Anthony's Kidney Transplant Quest

Anthony was born in February of 2010. We always knew that something was wrong. He was very fussy and seems to always be in pain. But as first time parents we didn’t know what to do. After he was a few months old we started taking him to the doctor very regularly trying to find out what was the matter but they kept telling us it was just colic. Finally when he had gotten really sick in September of 2010 we took him to the emergency room where the ran blood work. That was when we found out that we were dealing with much more then colic. The levels on his blood work were so bad that they initially thought he was bleeding internally. There was no pediatric unit at the local hospital so Anthony had to be taken by ambulance to the children’s hospital in Chicago. It was there that we found out there was a blockage between his kidneys and bladder that had been causing reflux of his urine into his kidneys essentially poisoning them. They performed surgery to fix the reflux but his kidneys were in really bad condition. He spent 5 days in intensive care trying to get stabilized. After a few more days in the hospital he was discharged with a strict daily schedule of medications and special diets. He was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease for which there is no cure.
Over the next several years we have had to closely monitor Anthony’s blood levels, height, weight, and blood pressure. He has had quite a few ups and downs but has been living a fairly normal life for a young child. He loves to be outside, play with his brother and sister, and even started preschool. Then in September of 2013 we were notified by his kidney doctors that his kidney disease had progressed to where we need to start the process of getting him a kidney transplant. His levels were getting bad enough that the possibility of him being put on dialysis is going to be our only option if we could not find him a healthy kidney. We had 2 options when it comes to transplant. 1) We could be put on the deceased donor list and hope that we can get a kidney from someone who had passed away or 2) we could find a live donor who was willing to donate a kidney to him. We decided to try both options  and see which one would come first. There were a few friends and family members that were tested to see if they were a match for him, but unfortunately none of them worked out. We are still hopeful of a live donor.
Now it has been a year and a half of waiting on the deceased donor list and he is still waiting for a healthy kidney. We can see his kidney disease progressing now more rapidly, and his energy level and appetite are starting to decrease . He is still so happy and loves life more then anyone else I know. It is so hard to watch him go through monthly labs, tests, hospital visits, etc. Anthony knows that he needs a new kidney to make him feel better and prays for one every night. Once he receives a healthy kidney, not only will he feel so much better but he will not have all the diet restrictions he has now. The thing he is looking forward to most about getting a healthy kidney is getting to eat a banana. Something so simple but will mean everything to him. Our hope by doing this page is to raise awarness about Anthonys story, funds to help with all the daily exspenses that come with ongoing medical care and hopefully get him a healthy kidney transplant soon.  We are working on getting a website going with more information and I will provide a link to that when it becomes avaliable. Thank you and GOD BLESS!