by Dawn Smith-
Trailers Unlimited 30 Commerce Dr. Rocky Pt, NC 28457
Bayley is a fourteen year old boy. He goes to Wilmington Early College. He loves to hunt, fish and ride his four-wheeler.
Bayley fell sick in October 2003 with pneumonia. Two weeks later he began swelling. Upon consultation with a nephrologist in Chapel Hill we believed his condition to be kidney related, but something he would outgrow. By January of 2004 the nephrologist called for a renal biopsy. Our lives drastically changed when we learned he had a rare idiopathic kidney disease. The name of the condition is Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis. The kidneys leak protein, which causes the filters to scar, and the kidneys are destroyed.
The doctors acted quickly with the most aggressive treatments available. He went into Acute Renal Failure in February 2004. We started Plasmapheresis(a chest tube was inserted and blood is filtered and cleaned). The treatments lasted for three hours and could only been done in Chapel Hill. We traveled there three times a week for four weeks. For a while Bayley seemed to improve, the stay was temporary. We then tried Cytoxan(a type of chemotherapy). This treatment was also unsuccessful. We then tried to other medicines that had shown to be effective in clinical trials. In October of 2004 Bayley had peritonitis which is an infection caused by fluid retention and he again went into Acute Renal Failure. Bayley’s native kidneys failed in January of 2005. He was placed in Peritoneal Dialysis nightly for 10 hours. At one point Bayley was taking 24 pills just to maintain.
In the following months we began testing family for a possible transplant. One by one all family members were excluded for either blood or antigen match. Kevin Kutz , a family friend had spoken many times about the fact that he was a blood match for Bayley. Kevin proved to be as close of a match as possible, as he was not blood related. Kevin went through months of testing. Even knowing that Bayley could reject the kidney or that the condition that compromised Bayley’s native kidneys could come back, Kevin never wavered. On Valentine’s Day 2006, Bayley received the most incredible Valentine ever…. one of Kevin’s kidneys.
For two years Bayley was able to be a normal kid again. He was able to eat regular food, ride his bike and four wheeler, go to school, and hang out with his friends. Most of us take these things for granted. Unfortunately, Bayley did lose the transplant due to an infection in his lung and the condition re-occurring. He is now back on Perotineal Dialysis, but doing well. Kevin is also doing well.
Prayfully one day we will find another match for Bayley. While his condition saddens us beyond words we know that his fate is in God’s hands. Bayley is a strong little boy who believes he will be well again one day. I am so proud to be his mother.