#MavStrong Kidney Transplant Fund
Donation protected
“Sometimes, real super heroes live in the hearts of small children fighting big battles”
Maverick Newton Morell was born May 31st of 2017 weighing in at 7.4lbs. They did not know it at the time, but Maverick’s battle had already started. Although Maverick was slightly premature, he passed his newborn screening test and went home with Mom & Dad a few days later. While they were home Maverick was doing everything you expect a newborn to do. Crying to be fed every few hours, sleeping a lot, and demanding to be held constantly. It was not till his first doctor checkup, a week after discharge that they started to notice something was wrong. Over the first week of his life, Maverick had not put on any weight. The doctor did not seem terribly alarmed, but wanted to follow up to check him again. By his next doctor appointment Maverick had dropped down to 5.11lbs it was at this time that his pediatrician had him admitted to Pomona Valley Hospital due to failure to thrive.
As soon as Maverick was at the hospital a blood test was done, and it showed Maverick was massively dehydrated and his kidneys were not functioning very well. Maverick was then transferred to Children Hospital Orange County Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. CHOCH was hopeful that once he was hydrated that his kidney function would return to normal, but after an ultrasound was done on his kidneys they learned the cause of his problems. Maverick was diagnosed with a chronic kidney disease called bilateral cystic renal dysplasia. Both of Mavericks kidneys are extremely small and covered in cysts. Maverick is already in stage 5 with his battle against chronic kidney disease, and his kidneys have failed. Since being born Maverick has spent 20 nights in the hospital, gone through surgery to have a gastrostomy tube placed in his stomach, as well as two blood transfusions.
Maverick is now under the care of a great nephrology team at Loma Linda University. He will need a kidney transplant as soon as he is big enough to survive the surgery. Until that time his family is keeping Maverick stable with a massive amount of medication, very closely monitored nutrition through his G-Tube, and lots of doctor appointments. They are trying to avoid starting nightly dialysis treatments, but it is a strong likelihood he will need dialysis before his kidney transplant. Once Maverick receives a new kidney it improves his overall survival outlook, and greatly improves his quality of life. However, a kidney transplant is not a cure for kidney disease and Maverick will have to have multiple surgeries within his lifetime.
While some of the costs of his care are covered by insurance, there are many out of pocket expenses that his family now has to pay for. Maverick will have ongoing medical care for the rest of his life, and the cost of this care will be a heavy financial burden. Travel to and from the hospital, insurance co-pays, and other cost have already added up very fast. Even after transplant the anti-rejection medication that Maverick will need to take for the rest of his life are only covered by his insurance for three years after the surgery, and these can be incredibly expensive.
Maverick’s mom stays home to take care of him and his older brother Landen, while his dad works very hard to provide for this family of four. All money raised will go to help pay for Mavericks medical expenses. Any money left will be put into an account for Maverick, to help him pay for medical cost later in life. Maverick can only be covered by his mom and dad for so long, and he will be living with kidney disease until a cure is found.
For more information on Kidney Disease plese visit the link below!
National Kidney Foundation
Maverick Newton Morell was born May 31st of 2017 weighing in at 7.4lbs. They did not know it at the time, but Maverick’s battle had already started. Although Maverick was slightly premature, he passed his newborn screening test and went home with Mom & Dad a few days later. While they were home Maverick was doing everything you expect a newborn to do. Crying to be fed every few hours, sleeping a lot, and demanding to be held constantly. It was not till his first doctor checkup, a week after discharge that they started to notice something was wrong. Over the first week of his life, Maverick had not put on any weight. The doctor did not seem terribly alarmed, but wanted to follow up to check him again. By his next doctor appointment Maverick had dropped down to 5.11lbs it was at this time that his pediatrician had him admitted to Pomona Valley Hospital due to failure to thrive.
As soon as Maverick was at the hospital a blood test was done, and it showed Maverick was massively dehydrated and his kidneys were not functioning very well. Maverick was then transferred to Children Hospital Orange County Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. CHOCH was hopeful that once he was hydrated that his kidney function would return to normal, but after an ultrasound was done on his kidneys they learned the cause of his problems. Maverick was diagnosed with a chronic kidney disease called bilateral cystic renal dysplasia. Both of Mavericks kidneys are extremely small and covered in cysts. Maverick is already in stage 5 with his battle against chronic kidney disease, and his kidneys have failed. Since being born Maverick has spent 20 nights in the hospital, gone through surgery to have a gastrostomy tube placed in his stomach, as well as two blood transfusions.
Maverick is now under the care of a great nephrology team at Loma Linda University. He will need a kidney transplant as soon as he is big enough to survive the surgery. Until that time his family is keeping Maverick stable with a massive amount of medication, very closely monitored nutrition through his G-Tube, and lots of doctor appointments. They are trying to avoid starting nightly dialysis treatments, but it is a strong likelihood he will need dialysis before his kidney transplant. Once Maverick receives a new kidney it improves his overall survival outlook, and greatly improves his quality of life. However, a kidney transplant is not a cure for kidney disease and Maverick will have to have multiple surgeries within his lifetime.
While some of the costs of his care are covered by insurance, there are many out of pocket expenses that his family now has to pay for. Maverick will have ongoing medical care for the rest of his life, and the cost of this care will be a heavy financial burden. Travel to and from the hospital, insurance co-pays, and other cost have already added up very fast. Even after transplant the anti-rejection medication that Maverick will need to take for the rest of his life are only covered by his insurance for three years after the surgery, and these can be incredibly expensive.
Maverick’s mom stays home to take care of him and his older brother Landen, while his dad works very hard to provide for this family of four. All money raised will go to help pay for Mavericks medical expenses. Any money left will be put into an account for Maverick, to help him pay for medical cost later in life. Maverick can only be covered by his mom and dad for so long, and he will be living with kidney disease until a cure is found.
For more information on Kidney Disease plese visit the link below!
National Kidney Foundation
Organizer and beneficiary
Simone Munton
Organizer
Ontario, CA
Garrison Morell
Beneficiary