WHITLEY CITY —
Longtime readers will recall Tyler Lay as a rambunctious 20-month toddler who got a new lease on life thanks to his father’s donated kidney.
Tyler — now nine — was born with congenital nephrotic syndrome, a life-threatening condition which causes the kidneys to continuously leak needed proteins and vitamins before they can be absorbed.
In October 2004, Tyler received a kidney from his dad Jerry. While doctors told the family that having a relative be the donor would reduce the chance of rejection, Tyler’s body unfortunately did reject the new organ.
“Tyler had the Epstein-Barre virus that goes with the anti-rejection medication,” his grandmother Marie Hale said. “His immune system stays low. Where a normal kid can fight off a cold or flu, it can send him to the hospital.”
Medication not only saved Tyler’s life but allowed him to function like the active boy that he is. But six months ago, routine blood work revealed that Tyler’s kidney was working at only 35 percent capacity.
“We found out that he only grew a half-inch last year,” Marie said.
Doctors initially monitored the situation but as time has passed, Tyler has become increasingly fatigued and more disturbingly, his blood pressure fluctuates wildly. In addition to the handful of pills he has to take twice a day, Tyler has to get three shots of Procrit per week to treat the anemia common in patients with chronic kidney failure. His current kidney function is at 15 percent. Once it drops to 10, he will have to return to dialysis for the first time since he was a baby.
Tyler spent the last month of school on homebound and after a three-day stint in the University of Kentucky Medical Center’s ICU to get his blood pressure down, Tyler is now on the transplant list for a new kidney.
But so many things have changed since his first transplant.
While the University of Tennessee had treated Tyler for most of his life, health insurance issues have forced the family to transfer to UK.
“It’s a good hospital; we’re just having to get used to new doctors,” Roy Hale, Tyler’s grandfather, said.
And it appears that Tyler may have to wait for a suitable donor. His mother Dottie was tested but determined to be too underweight for the procedure. On top of that, Tyler’s sensitivity is more acute than others needing a transplant because of his prior transplant and the anti-rejection medication he takes. Only 10 percent of people with Tyler’s blood type could actually donate a kidney to him.
But Tyler isn’t focusing on that. He’s spending his summer at his grandparents riding his bike and playing with the pup named Curly that he shares with his little sister Hallie. He’s not nervous about surgery. If anything, the transplant will help him get back to his favorite class at school, P.E.
Anyone interested in becoming a kidney donor is urged to call the UK HealthCare Kidney Transplant Program toll free at 1-866-474-6544.
Local News
Related Photos
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Like any nine-year-old, Tyler Lay enjoys riding his bike through his neighborhood (above) but a life-threatening condition he was born with has left him dependent on handfuls of medication (inset) and in need of a second kidney transplant. Janie Slaven
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