Racine County 10-year-old needs kidney donor to avoid dialysis
Racine County 10-year-old needs kidney donor to avoid dialysis
A 10-year-old Racine County boy needs a kidney donor to avoid dialysis. A donor within six months could give him the chance to live a normal life.
RACINE COUNTY, Wis. - Theo is a lively kid.
"He loves playing sports," Theo’s dad, Eric Scott, said. "Whatever sport is on, that’s the one he loves playing."
Even in the face of many reasons not to, Theo wears a smile.
"When I’m dealing with this kidney stuff, I just want to live a normal life, act like this is not happening," Theo said.
Battling kidney disease
What we know:
Theo has battled kidney disease his entire life. One kidney has been slowly dying off since birth and the other, which doctors thought would be strong, hasn’t been able to develop normally. The pain for Theo’s parents, Danielle and Eric Scott, is immeasurable.
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Baby Theo
"I have been emotionally, just in turmoil," Eric said. "You don’t look at him as unhealthy, and then you’re reminded about it, the appointment coming up, and then it’s all the emotions all over again."
The other kidney can’t keep up with the demands of his body as he grows. So now, to avoid dialysis, Theo needs a donor within six months or so. Dialysis is a harsher treatment that would have side effects and keep him in the hospital more.
A nurse who works with Theo, Shelley Chapman, says finding a match will be difficult.
Looking for a match
What we know:
"The odds of getting a perfect match, like a lot of people talk about, is hard," Chapman said.
But it’s far from impossible.
"I want him to go and be a regular kid. I want him to live life. I want him to be able to go to school, be with his friends and do all the things a kid should be able to do," Chapman said.
Danielle and Eric have grown closer and found strength through Theo.
"It’s the little things that you see that he does that reminds us it’s going to be okay. We’re going to be fine," Eric said.
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And Theo continues to smile. Whether it’s on the court, with his family or simply enjoying life.
"And I like playing with my neighbors, it’s fun, and it just gets rid of the stress," Theo said.
What you can do:
Anyone interested in kidney donation to help Theo can visit the National Kidney Registry online.
Even if the kidney is not a match, still donating in Theo’s name can get him better odds of finding a match in the future.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Ben Hanson and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Theo’s family, Shelley Chapman and the National Kidney Registry.