A gift just in time for the holiday season.
An Arkansas family will celebrate Thanksgiving differently this year than it did decades ago after a mother was found to be holding her child’s life-saving medicine.
Kenneth Grantham, 31, has been suffering from IGA Nephropathy, an incurable kidney disease since his diagnosis in February 2012.
“It was on my 20th birthday every time I got the first scan,” Grantham, who followed Chase, told KARK.
Although he had lived with the disease for more than a decade, his kidneys began to fail and soon required a transplant.
“I went from level 3 to level 5 now,” Grantham said.
Twenty of her friends and family were tested to see if they were compatible to be donors for Grantham, and her mother turned out to be the answer.
Auto-immune diseases occur when clumps of antibodies are deposited in your kidneys, causing inflammation and kidney damage, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Kenneth Grantham, 31, has been suffering from IGA Nephropathy, an incurable kidney disease since his diagnosis in February 2012. Kenneth Grantham, 31, has been suffering from IGA Nephropathy, an incurable kidney disease since his diagnosis in February 2012. KARK
This disease is more common among East Asian or white European men between the ages of 10-40.
After experiencing several medical problems along the way, relief finally came for the mother-son duo as they were approved for surgery in December.
“It’s a word you wait to hear for a long time,” said the father of one.
Karen Wright said she didn’t hesitate to become her child’s donor when she found out she was a match because “It’s something a mother does.” KARK Kenneth Grantham lies in a hospital bed with his son and his future wife, having lived with the disease for more than 10 years. KARK
Grantham’s mother Karen Wright said it had been a journey to get to where they are now.
“It was very emotional,” Wright told the outlet, saying he didn’t think twice about becoming a donor. “It’s something mothers do. Do you know people say, ‘How can you do that,’ and I say, ‘How can you not?’ This is your child, that’s what you should do.”
When she first learned about her son’s rare disease, Wright decided to become a nurse, to help more.
“I just decided to go to school and become a nurse so I could know what they were talking about,” she said.
Twenty of her friends and family were tested to see if they were compatible to be donors for Grantham, and her mother turned out to be the answer. KARK Wright and Grantham show off the matching tattoos they got after Grantham’s diagnosis. KARK
Although he’s been dealt a tough hand over the past decade, Grantham says there’s been some good to come from it.
“It made me slow down and appreciate things that I wouldn’t otherwise have,” Grantham said. “It made me and my mom closer and everyone in my family.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
