Transplanting Hope Herkimer child faces life-saving kidney transplant surgery By Patricia J. Malin
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year ago, little Ayden Mosher of Herkimer participated in his first Kidney Walk in Utica with his parents, Cindy Davis and Pat Mosher, and other family members. He might have to miss out on the 2015 walk, scheduled for Sept. 20 at the Masonic Care Community. The 2-year-old might be in Boston, Mass. instead, preparing for a life-saving kidney transplant, and that would be good news. A successful transplant would also bring a huge sigh of relief to his aunt, Jamie Mosher of Ohio. She has undergone rigorous testing and numerous trips to Boston Children’s Hospital ever since last February, when she offered to donate a kidney to her brother’s son and has proven to be a strong genetic match. His parents, grandmother and second cousin also got tested. Ayden was born on Sept. 22, 2013 with the pediatric Ayden Mosher form of polycystic kidney disease or autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease. He spent the first 11 days of his life in the neonatal unit at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse. He wasn’t expected to survive at first. Despite weighing just 29 pounds now and a smaller than normal size, he has developed into a fairly active toddler. Finally, the conditions are right for a kidney transplant. “He can’t live a normal life,” Davis
said of her only child. “He has to be on 10-hour dialysis at night while he sleeps. We feed him small meals during the day. He has tubes coming out of his stomach. He can’t swim or take a bath or play outside because of the fear of getting infected. “He can’t have milk or ice cream,” she added. “Last week, a hole developed in one of his tubes leading to his stomach and he had to go to Crouse Hospital to have it replaced.” The tube broke down due to normal wear and tear. With a child, there is also the risk of tubes getting snagged on furniture or equipment. The Kidney Walk of Utica sheds a light on patients like Ayden who are suffering from kidney disease. The dollars raised through donations go toward research, education and it funds lifesaving programs that educate and support patients, their families and those at risk. Although ARPKD was first recognized in 1902 and found in both infants and adults, researchers were unable to trace its origin until 1947.
Solid track record
Davis said the Children’s Hospital of Boston performs an average of 24 kidney transplants in children each year. Ayden’s physician, Scott Sherman, a pediatric nephrologist in Syracuse, recommended the family use Children’s Hospital of Boston due to its success rate.
Ayden Mosher, a 2-year-old from Herkimer, will be heading to Boston, Mass. this fall for a life-saving kidney transplant. However, Ayden’s family has to drive to Boston twice a week — a four-hour trip one way, for testing and constant evaluation. It’s an even longer trip and rigorous process for Ayden’s aunt. “There are very strict guidelines for donors,” said Davis. “It’s been said that only 30 percent of donors get through the testing. It’s a rough process. It’s stressful.” Her sister-in-law wasn’t given clearance to be a donor until June. The transplant is tentatively scheduled for October. If Jamie, 34, survives the donation process and the operation succeeds, Ayden and his family will have to remain in Boston another two weeks while he recovers. Davis, 36, was ruled out as a donor, she said, because she is her son’s primary caregiver and can’t afford to be sidelined for any length of time. If the transplant is successful, Ayden can expect to live a “normal life,” she noted, even though it means taking anti-rejection medicine daily for
the rest of his life. If Ayden happens to be in Boston shortly after his birthday, there could be another big celebration. “I couldn’t ask for a better gift,” Davis said in a post on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/aydenstory. The Utica Kidney Walk has set a goal of $25,000. Check-in time is 10 a.m., followed by the start at 11 a.m. Contact Nanette Carbone by emailing ncarbone@cnykidney.org or calling 315-476-0311 to register. The seventh annual Utica Kidney Walk in 2014 raised a total of $23,879. Twenty-eight teams participated and Jack’s Pack led the teams with $4,000 in donations. The Kidney Walk is the nation’s largest walk to fight kidney disease. Held in nearly 100 communities, the event raises awareness and funds lifesaving programs that educate and support patients, their families and those at risk. More than 80 cents of every $1 donated to the National Kidney Foundation directly supports programs and services.
Brightwaters Farms bidding for medical marijuana license Continued from Page 20 24/7 and can only be opened from the inside, plus heavy locked metal doors that separate different sections of the greenhouse interior. The Utica site boasts many large, empty greenhouses that can grow plants hydroponically, in water and fertilizer only, thanks to an extensive irrigation system in the floor. The farm also has a research lab. Utica Mayor Rob Palmieri and other public officials contend that Brightwaters Farms’ plants would not only benefit patients suffering from epilepsy, cancer or multiple sclerosis. It would help the local economy by generating a potential 150 “well-paying jobs” plus sales taxes, he said. Quintal’s staff passed out white T-shirts to everyone at the Veteran’s Outreach Center in downtown Utica.
It featured a red heart in the middle, a logo on top, and it read “Utica + Brightwaters Farms = Medicine For Those In Need.” Forty-three businesses applied for licenses to grow medical cannabis and only five licenses were granted. They
are Bloomfield Industries Inc, Columbia Care NY LLC, Empire Health Solutions, Etain LLC and PharmaCann LLC. Bloomfield, Etain and PharmaCann will open dispensaries in Onondaga County. Quintal was unavailable for comment in regards to his response to not being selected and what his future plans consist of. According to the state department of health, patients with the following debilitating or life-threatening conditions are eligible to receive medical marijuana treatment: “cancer, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication or intractable spasticity, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease,
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neuropathies, Huntington’s disease,” plus other conditions associated with severe or chronic pain; severe nausea, seizures, severe or persistent muscle spasms. Within the next 18 months, Alzheimer’s, muscular dystrophy, dystonia, post-traumatic stress disorder and rheumatoid arthritis will be included. The health commissioner has the right to add other debilitating diseases and conditions to this list. Each one of those companies could have up to four dispensaries apiece and could produce different varieties of the medication. New York patients could have access to as many as 20 places licensed to sell the drug. A Quinnipiac University poll in 2014 found that 88 percent of all New Yorkers think allowing medical marijuana at the recommendation of a doctor is a good idea.
IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper
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