Child Transplant Recipients Celebrate
By Mark Abramson, Palo Alto Daily News, Calif.
Aug. 3–About 100 children who are liver or intestinal transplant recipients descended on Stanford University on Saturday — not to be examined, but to have fun.
The children were treated to arts and crafts, music from children’s entertainer Wiley Rankin and his wife, Debbie Rankin, barbecued food and seeing their doctors and nurses without having to get a checkup or get blood tests. While the children were having fun, their parents were listening to lectures about transplant surgeries from Stanford physicians.
Juan Ayala, 11, of Fresno, has gone to the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital "Day of Fun and Education" ever since it started three years ago. He was a baby when he had his first liver transplant, and he was about five years old when he had a second transplant.
"It’s fun. It’s nice to know there are kids who have the same problem as me," Juan said.
"It’s gotten better every year," he said about the event.
Patients come to Stanford for transplants from a lot farther than Fresno, hospital officials said. Patients come from as far away as Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington.
"Liver transplants are one of those surgeries that requires a good health team," said Dr. William Berquist.
Berquist described getting a transplant not only has a difficult experience for Stanford’s young patients — who range in age from one month to 18 years old — but as something families have to get used to. The patients’ follow-up visits decrease in frequency over time, and they have to take anti-rejection medication for their transplanted organs for the rest of their lives.
"They have a higher risk of getting cancers," Berquist noted.
Berquist stressed the need for donors since recipients could wait for months for an organ. In dire situations, a family member can donate part of their liver and grow it back, he added.
Saturday’s event was also for families who have a son or daughter who needs a transplant, so they can get more information about the surgery and see that children can have a normal life after such an operation, Berquist said.
Stephanie Menner of Half Moon Bay was at the event with her 5-year-old son Ethan, who had a liver transplant in 2005. He had a birth defect that prevented bile from exiting his liver. Ethan still has follow-up visits with doctors every two months.
"He has his ups and downs," Menner said. "He’s now doing beautifully. He had problems, and we did a lot of work with the staff (to overcome the problems)."
Ethan said his favorite part of Saturday’s fun was making bubbles and playing with beach balls.
"Every year we wait for this, and I love it," said Steven, Ethan’s 8-year-old big brother.
E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.
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