Welcome to Kaden's page! Please scroll down to read his story. Thanks for visiting his site, the McCormick family appreciates your love and support.

With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, many transplant families are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure.  The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients.  In Roosevelt, volunteers are raising funds for transplant patients like local baby, Kaden McCormick. 

Kaden is the son of Curtis and Krista McCormick.  Born on Januray 29, 2010, Kaden was diagnosed with kidney failure.  The doctors at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah have recommended a life-saving kidney transplant.  An estimated $100,000 is being raised by volunteers all over Utah and also in Texas, Arizona, and Missouri.  
 

Here is Kaden's story

Hi my name is Kaden LeGrand McCormick; I was born January 29, 2010 one month before my due date. My parents knew there was something wrong with my kidneys before I was born, but they did not know the full extent of the problem. When I was only two weeks old I was taken to  Primary Children’s Medical Center, three hours away from my home.  It was there that my parents were told that I had posterior urethral valves, which is a block in the urethra. This blockage had caused urine to back up into my bladder and kidney's making them swell and ultimately ruining my kidney's. At this point my parents were told I would one day need dialysis and/or a kidney transplant in order to live.  This was the hardest day of my parents’ lives, but they still were not fully aware of the struggles and pain that we would all have to go through in order to get me to a transplant.

 After I was released from the hospital for the surgery to remove the blockage, I had doctor appointments once a week with a kidney specialist three hours away from our house. At every doctor appointment my parents had to hold me as they drew blood from my tiny frail arms, as I laid there in my mom’s arms crying through my tears I looked up at her and she was crying just as much as I was, and I knew she was holding me to give me comfort.   

A few months into my life I was on about 6 different medications, medications to help me feel better, to help me gain weight, to help me keep my food down, to help my bones not be brittle, controlled vitamins that my body needs, and an antibiotic to prevent me from getting a urinary tract infection(UTI).  I also was put on a special diet to help control the acid levels in my blood.  My diet was very low in nutritional value so calories and vitamins that my body needed were also added.

   I t soon became a fight just to get me to eat because I just didn’t feel good.  I rarely kept any food down which caused me to become dehydrated very easily. I was six months old when my parents decided to have a feeding tube (G-tube) placed directly into my stomach.  After I was healed from my second surgery I started to feel a little better, my mom was able to keep me better hydrated, and I started to grow like a weed, and as a bonus I didn’t have to taste the terrible medicine anymore. For the next six months things went smoothly, some medications were added to help my anemia it was a shot that I had to have every other week.  I learned how to sit up, and how to crawl and I had my first birthday.  They soon started me on a growth hormone, which is a shot as well that I had every day, so that I could grow big enough for a transplant.

March 2011 I got my first UTI, but since my bladder and urethra are stretched out it is extremely hard to catheter me so by the time the doctors found out I had a UTI my sodium and potassium levels were dangerously high and low, they worried about it damaging my heart, and I was almost comatose by the time they got me to Primary Children’s Medical Center.  Once I got to the hospital I stayed for ten days, I had my blood drawn every six hours for the first three days; I had three IV's, one in my head, one in my arm, and one in my foot. Once they were able to find an antibiotic strong enough to kill the infection they decided I would need another surgery on my bladder to help the urine drain better. After ten days of me and my parents being in the hospital we finally got to go home and be with my sister and the rest of my family who were worried about and missed me. 

 One month later I had my third surgery a (vesocostomy) they brought my bladder to the surface of the skin and opened it, this way my bladder is always draining and it is super easy to catheterize me. Since then I have only had one Severe UTI and was in the hospital for four days. I get a UTI about once a month but if they catch them early enough they can treat it with oral medication rather than IV.

In July the doctors decided that i had finally grown big enough to begin my transplant journey.  My Daddy is currently being tested to give me one of his kidneys.  If he can’t my Mommy wants to and if not her my auntie's and uncles and the rest of my family are eagerly awaiting the chance to give me a new kidney.

It is a great feeling knowing that there are so many people who want to help me and my family through this rough time in our lives.  We are very grateful to every one!