Autosomal Polycystic Recessive Kidney Disease. This is his diagnosis from birth. Medically this is the first thing they use to describe him, but for us this is not it. This is just a small fraction of who he is. The whole is much more complex and exciting.

He has been fighting since his last 2 weeks in the womb. He was born with a bluish/purple tint due to having no oxygen and amniotic fluid in my womb. He fought in the NICU for 2 months. The doctors did not think he was going to make it out. They did not want to send him home in the care of a young mother until they knew I had a strong village behind us. So, after many tests and sit-downs, we were finally able to bring him home. He not only proved he was stable to go home but he actually started thriving once he was home with his family. 

He has made it to 11 now. He is a very active, intelligent and eager 11-year-old. We have had many scares and appointments and tests and long nights. but he has still fought through it. He is strong in his spirit and his resolve. He has not only dealt with medical issues, but he has triumphed over bullying issues. He has a very enlarged stomach that he has had to deal with being picked on for years due to this. Yet it doesn’t stop him from making friends and standing up for others. He has worked hard in school, and he does not let his many absences due to all his medical needs stop him from learning all he can. He especially loves math and science. He especially loves and has a great passion for soccer. He wants to either be a soccer player or a scientist to help those with kidney issues like him. He is an exceptional help at school and at home with his 2 younger brothers. He is also a video gamer and he loves Fortnite. 

Trint has never allowed his diagnosis to determine who he is and what he wants to do. He has defied the odds by lasting as long as he has without the need for a transplant. He rarely even wants to tell me when he is in pain. This is how I knew this time things were different. He was running a fever on August 29^th, and he was just laying around the house which is not normal for him. I gave him Tylenol as I have been told to do first to see if it helps. Which it did for that night. Then came the 30th. I gave him another dose of Tylenol in the afternoon and 5 minutes later he was vomiting black blood. I rushed him to the nearest hospital and they admitted us. This began our fight for his life.

He started declining even more after they admitted him. First his fever accelerated then his blood pressure got higher. Then he was in such an excessive amount of pain that he needed a morphine drip. Then he had to be put on a ventilator just to breathe. Then on September the 5th we had to be transferred to the Charleston Children’s Hospital. Once we got there it was close to a month of ups and downs. He would be okay and making progress for a couple of days, but then he would start declining again out of nowhere. That’s when Transplant came into the fight. He needs to have both his kidney and liver transplanted. Sadly, Charleston had done all they could do but we had to be transferred to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where it is said that they are more suited for the type of procedures he needs. So, on the 29th of September we were flown in the emergency helicopter. 

We had to leave his brothers in the hands of my village. They are doing all they can to make sure I am able to stay with him in this fight. It is his fight, but I do not ever want him to feel like he has to fight it alone. I am his mother and I will always be his biggest supporter. We are aware that this is only the beginning and that it’s a lifelong fight ahead of him. We are aware that transplant is not the end-all. That he will have many more doctor appointments, tests and bloodwork to be done. But he is ready and so is the village behind him to fight right along with him. We will get him through this so he can be the best scientist or soccer player or whatever he is meant to be in his life.  

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.