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- Posted February 4, 2013 by
- miracleblake Follow
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Griffith, Indiana
Griffith, Indiana
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9 year old reaching 8 year wait for Kidney Transplant
Meet Blake Loudenber. He is a nine year old from Griffith, Indiana who has been waiting almost 8 years for his second kidney transplant. Blake was born with Infantile Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) which is rare. Infants born with this disease rarely make it to the age of 2. Blake has defeated most odds and will be turning 10 in April. Blake has waited longer than any child or adult treated out of the University of Chicago.
When Blake was born doctors had no hope of him surviving. One of his doctors wanted to send him home to die. Blake’s other doctor felt that he could save his life by putting him on dialysis. He is the youngest child to receive dialysis at the University of Chicago. They saved his life.
Blake received a transplant at the age of two and he was doing well for a short while. Unfortunately, Blake became very ill. He was very lethargic. He was so ill that he could not even lift his head up. His family would walk him around for hours and hours just to keep him happy. He never cried, he never moaned, he would not talk, not a sound. Always, he just laid his head down. What made this worse was Blake could not even walk yet; he was just lying there, dying. His family was in despair, they felt helpless as they slowly watched his little soul dwindle away. Through all this though, they still had hope.
One day, Blake’s took an even further turn for the worse. He was sitting up at the counter eating and he fell over almost hitting the floor. There was no response from him. When the ambulance arrived, they just ran in, and immediately ran out with Blake. They rushed him to Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana. The doctors told Blake’s family that there was nothing more that could be done. Blake was dying. His little body was filled up with toxins and those toxins had put his body into shock. The doctors decided to air lift him to Chicago and told his family that they should say their goodbyes because he probably would not make it there. They watched him take off and that was it. They thought Blake was gone. They drove to the hospital in Chicago in complete silence.
The helicopter landed in a soccer field and they ran him in to the hospital. Even though they thought he would not make it, they inserted a breathing tube because he could not breathe on his own. Cindy, Blake’s grandmother stayed the night with him at the hospital. Around five o’clock in the morning something amazing happened. Blake was beginning to breathe a little bit on his own. It took a long time but Blake finally pulled through. The doctors and everyone that knows Blake said it was a true miracle.
Blake was put back on dialysis and on the kidney transplant list. Due to his age, Blake is at the top of the list. He has waited almost 8 long years now and still has not received his second kidney transplant. There are two reasons why. The first reason is his blood type. Blake’s blood type is O positive. Anyone with that blood type can only accept forms of O blood. The second reason is because his body rejected the first kidney transplant. His antibodies shot sky high and it makes it extremely difficult for his blood to accept anything. Blake’s aunt Kylee was a match for him, but when they mixed the blood there was a bad reaction and that ruled her out. During the wait of finding a match, he has suffered from many infections. Most of these infections are from his catheter and they are very hard to clear up. During Christmas time 2 years ago, he had a really bad infection and barely pulled through it. He was in the hospital for almost a month. He had many painful surgeries during this time. He has also had his catheter removed and had a new one replaced during a separate surgery. Blake is very low in iron so they give it to him in his IV. Blake has also had numerous blood transfusions and takes many medications orally and through injections. Due to a severe reaction to growth hormones, Blake’s growth plates are nearly closed. He has not grown since the age of four and a half. If Blake does not get a transplant before these plates close, he will remain 3 ½ feet for the rest of his life.
Every night we send our children to bed, have them brush their teeth and take care of their regular night time rituals. Blake, on the other hand, has to be hooked up to his dialysis machine. He has to be on the machine for 11 hours every single day. Waking up the next day, He knows he cannot just jump out of bed and start his day. He has to finish the dialysis and then get disconnected, take his medications and then get ready for school. Blake has a large family who he lives with. They revolve their lives around Blake. He has had a few miracles in his life but the grandest one of all is the love that his family has for each other.
When you see Blake playing, he is running around and laughing like a normal kid. He loves baseball and plays little league and basketball. He goes to school, complains about homework, and does what an all American kid does. The only holdback is his illness. His aunt Kelly asked him what he would like to tell the world. His response was, “everything is going to be ok.” Blake is only 9 right now. His aunt Kelly does not think Blake realizes what it means when they say he may never grow. “Right now, he’s just a shorty, but still loves life. My biggest fear is that he’ll never grow, and that will lead to a shorter life, and that one day he won’t keep smiling about everything. We need his smile.”-Aunt Kelly
His grandma says that Blake’s favorite thing is rainbows. He really loves drawing them. He draws her one every day. This is a sign to her that he believes somewhere, somehow, there is a bright side to all of this. Her fear is that if the rainbows start disappearing, his hope will diminish. It is very important to her that he keeps drawing those rainbows. Blake’s doctor told her to remember that when he is out playing that he is not a normal kid. He will always need special care and love. He is a miracle.
Blake needs a kidney immediately. He is a truly amazing child and I believe in miracles. He is a child that has endured so much pain, more than most adults have dealt with in their lifetime.
If you are interested in seeing if you are a match for Blake please visit the University of Chicago’s website: http://www.uchospitals.edu/specialties/transplant/kidney/donate.html Please fill out the health questionnaire and then the application and send it back to The University of Chicago For more information visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AMiracleForBlake
Please help this little man get his kidney so the rainbows do not disappear.
From Blake's local paper: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/griffith/griffith-boy-still-waiting-for-kidney/article_9557edee-7174-5156-8d30-d8027b977ae2.html
This link has over 60,000 share for Blake. Pass it along!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=436758373008668&set=a.222177344466773.62990.107794902571685&type=1&theater
Originally written By: Joan Vujko Rohrman
Revised By: Angela Vujko
When Blake was born doctors had no hope of him surviving. One of his doctors wanted to send him home to die. Blake’s other doctor felt that he could save his life by putting him on dialysis. He is the youngest child to receive dialysis at the University of Chicago. They saved his life.
Blake received a transplant at the age of two and he was doing well for a short while. Unfortunately, Blake became very ill. He was very lethargic. He was so ill that he could not even lift his head up. His family would walk him around for hours and hours just to keep him happy. He never cried, he never moaned, he would not talk, not a sound. Always, he just laid his head down. What made this worse was Blake could not even walk yet; he was just lying there, dying. His family was in despair, they felt helpless as they slowly watched his little soul dwindle away. Through all this though, they still had hope.
One day, Blake’s took an even further turn for the worse. He was sitting up at the counter eating and he fell over almost hitting the floor. There was no response from him. When the ambulance arrived, they just ran in, and immediately ran out with Blake. They rushed him to Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana. The doctors told Blake’s family that there was nothing more that could be done. Blake was dying. His little body was filled up with toxins and those toxins had put his body into shock. The doctors decided to air lift him to Chicago and told his family that they should say their goodbyes because he probably would not make it there. They watched him take off and that was it. They thought Blake was gone. They drove to the hospital in Chicago in complete silence.
The helicopter landed in a soccer field and they ran him in to the hospital. Even though they thought he would not make it, they inserted a breathing tube because he could not breathe on his own. Cindy, Blake’s grandmother stayed the night with him at the hospital. Around five o’clock in the morning something amazing happened. Blake was beginning to breathe a little bit on his own. It took a long time but Blake finally pulled through. The doctors and everyone that knows Blake said it was a true miracle.
Blake was put back on dialysis and on the kidney transplant list. Due to his age, Blake is at the top of the list. He has waited almost 8 long years now and still has not received his second kidney transplant. There are two reasons why. The first reason is his blood type. Blake’s blood type is O positive. Anyone with that blood type can only accept forms of O blood. The second reason is because his body rejected the first kidney transplant. His antibodies shot sky high and it makes it extremely difficult for his blood to accept anything. Blake’s aunt Kylee was a match for him, but when they mixed the blood there was a bad reaction and that ruled her out. During the wait of finding a match, he has suffered from many infections. Most of these infections are from his catheter and they are very hard to clear up. During Christmas time 2 years ago, he had a really bad infection and barely pulled through it. He was in the hospital for almost a month. He had many painful surgeries during this time. He has also had his catheter removed and had a new one replaced during a separate surgery. Blake is very low in iron so they give it to him in his IV. Blake has also had numerous blood transfusions and takes many medications orally and through injections. Due to a severe reaction to growth hormones, Blake’s growth plates are nearly closed. He has not grown since the age of four and a half. If Blake does not get a transplant before these plates close, he will remain 3 ½ feet for the rest of his life.
Every night we send our children to bed, have them brush their teeth and take care of their regular night time rituals. Blake, on the other hand, has to be hooked up to his dialysis machine. He has to be on the machine for 11 hours every single day. Waking up the next day, He knows he cannot just jump out of bed and start his day. He has to finish the dialysis and then get disconnected, take his medications and then get ready for school. Blake has a large family who he lives with. They revolve their lives around Blake. He has had a few miracles in his life but the grandest one of all is the love that his family has for each other.
When you see Blake playing, he is running around and laughing like a normal kid. He loves baseball and plays little league and basketball. He goes to school, complains about homework, and does what an all American kid does. The only holdback is his illness. His aunt Kelly asked him what he would like to tell the world. His response was, “everything is going to be ok.” Blake is only 9 right now. His aunt Kelly does not think Blake realizes what it means when they say he may never grow. “Right now, he’s just a shorty, but still loves life. My biggest fear is that he’ll never grow, and that will lead to a shorter life, and that one day he won’t keep smiling about everything. We need his smile.”-Aunt Kelly
His grandma says that Blake’s favorite thing is rainbows. He really loves drawing them. He draws her one every day. This is a sign to her that he believes somewhere, somehow, there is a bright side to all of this. Her fear is that if the rainbows start disappearing, his hope will diminish. It is very important to her that he keeps drawing those rainbows. Blake’s doctor told her to remember that when he is out playing that he is not a normal kid. He will always need special care and love. He is a miracle.
Blake needs a kidney immediately. He is a truly amazing child and I believe in miracles. He is a child that has endured so much pain, more than most adults have dealt with in their lifetime.
If you are interested in seeing if you are a match for Blake please visit the University of Chicago’s website: http://www.uchospitals.edu/specialties/transplant/kidney/donate.html Please fill out the health questionnaire and then the application and send it back to The University of Chicago For more information visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AMiracleForBlake
Please help this little man get his kidney so the rainbows do not disappear.
From Blake's local paper: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/griffith/griffith-boy-still-waiting-for-kidney/article_9557edee-7174-5156-8d30-d8027b977ae2.html
This link has over 60,000 share for Blake. Pass it along!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=436758373008668&set=a.222177344466773.62990.107794902571685&type=1&theater
Originally written By: Joan Vujko Rohrman
Revised By: Angela Vujko
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