By ANTHONY BOTTAN
Laura was five months pregnant with her second child, and blood tests showed that something was wrong with the fetus. Her doctor told her it would either be born very sick or die shortly after birth, and asked her if she would consider having an abortion.
The Ritchies decided their unborn child deserved a chance to live, and their son, Danny, was born on Oct. 17, 1994.
Danny had vesicouteral reflux, a condition in which the kidneys back up and become enlarged, causing irreversible damage. When he was only a year old, Danny underwent an operation to repair his ureters, the tubes that connect each kidney to the bladder. Most ureters are straight, Larry Ritchie explained, but Danny’s were not. A mere urinary tract infection would have been fatal, he said.
The urologist told the Ritchies that Danny, who is a ninth- grade student at Malverne High School, would need a kidney transplant by age 10. His reflux condition caused him to develop Stage Four chronic kidney disease. There are only five stages.
“We feel so helpless as parents,” Laura said.
Though the Ritchies knew their son would eventually need a transplant, his annual tests came out looking fine year after year, and their son was as active and happy as any other young boy. But when Danny turned 12, their lives began to change rapidly.
In October 2007, Danny’s blood tests showed signs that his chronic disease was worsening. “I remember receiving that call at work, telling me that he needs to be seen very often,” Laura Ritchie said. “I knew in my heart that things were not good. I left my office and cried outside and said, ‘God, I do not want to lose him, please.’”
Danny’s condition steadily worsened, and the disease was running him down. He became lethargic, which made even the easiest tasks harder and more tiresome. The Ritchies took their son to a nephrologist — a kidney specialist — who told them Danny would need a transplant within six to nine months.
The doctor explained that the first half of the decline of someone with the disease is slow, but the second half is very fast. She added that Danny’s right kidney was no longer functioning, and his other kidney was working at only 20 percent of capacity. When the left kidney’s functioning capability dropped to 15 percent, the doctor said, Danny would need a transplant or dialysis.
The boy’s name was put on a waiting list for a kidney at SUNY-Stony Brook in March. Doctors tested Larry and Laura to see if their blood types matched their son’s. Larry’s did not, and because of a medical condition, doctors said they could not take a kidney from Laura. They received two calls about possible donors, but neither worked out. One kidney was given to a 21-year-old who had been on dialysis for five years. “It’s OK — he deserved it more than I did,” Danny said.
“The more we wait, the more we get run down,” Larry Ritchie said.
Though dialysis was an option, doctors told them it would need to be done three to four times a week. And transplanted kidneys don’t last forever: Their average lifespan is 10 years. Since Danny is under 18, he has first priority, but even a new kidney would last only until he is 23. Based on his age, doctors said it would be reasonable to assume that he will need a few transplants in his lifetime.
Danny’s dream is to be a professional baseball player. He wanted to play on Howard T. Herber Middle School’s team last school year, but he got so ill that he had to be home-schooled. His favorite teams are the Mets and the Rangers, and his favorite player is Mets centerfielder Carlos Beltran. One of his favorite things to do is to go to a friend’s house and play the video games Halo 3 or MLB 2009 on Xbox 360.
Danny now takes several pills and a hormone shot every day — and his parents try to keep him in good spirits. The Make-A-Wish Foundation granted Danny his wish of a Mets bedroom makeover, though his first wish was for the foundation to pay off his parents’ house, so his mother could stay home and take care of him and not worry about the mortgage. “I feel like the luckiest kid in the world,” he said of his newly designed room.
Despite all he has been through, Danny said he still counts his blessings. He told his mother he was sorry for being sick and he did not want his mother’s kidney, in fear that he might lose her. “Even if something went wrong with me, as long as he’s OK ...” Laura said of giving her kidney to her son.
Those who would like to help with Danny’s medical expenses, or learn more about kidney donation, can contact Laura Ritchie at (516) 270-8973, or write to Danny at 76 Hart St., Lynbrook, N.Y. 11563.
Comments on this story? ABottan@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 246.
