Thank you for taking the time to visit Mason’s page and learn a little bit about him and the transplant journey that he and his family is on! 

 

Mason was born in July, 2015, in Lafayette, Indiana to Karl, Holly, and big-brother William.  Mason had some trauma at birth which required him to be in the NICU and have a chest tube inserted. In the follow-up care of both Mason and his mom there was some additional testing completed.  The determination at that time was that Mason was born with very tiny kidneys.  We’ve since learned that this is called Bilateral Renal Dysplasia and that Mason would require dialysis and a kidney transplant.  

 

Mason’s condition caused him to be transferred from his birth hospital to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis when he was only 5 days old.  When he was transferred to Riley’s, the doctors were able to stabilize Mason’s kidney function with medication and special formula.  This allowed Mason to come home when he was 3  weeks old.  Karl and Holly had to take him for weekly blood work at local medical facilities and also for monthly follow-up appointments at Riley’s, which is a 2 hour drive from their home.

 

Just before Thanksgiving, 2015, Mason’s body reached the point where he would soon outgrow the functional ability of his tiny kidneys.  His parents were notified that he and they would need to begin the dialysis process after Thanksgiving.  This required another hospital stay for Mason and his parents, with big brother William going between other family and also Mom and Dad as they stayed with Mason and learned about dialysis.  

 

Mason was in the hospital for 3 weeks this time.  During this time, Mason had three surgeries:  one for dialysis catheter, one for a central line placement, and a third for G-tube insertion and repairing a hydrocele.  Karl and Holly spent their time learning how to administer peritoneal dialysis in their home.  Mason and his family returned to their home just before Christmas, 2015.  

 

Since that time, it has been a rollercoaster ride for the entire family and extended family.    Around the time Mason neared two years of age and the size required for his kidney transplant, testing started for donors.  Check out the blog to learn about Mason’s matched donor!