Kidney Failure: Transplant Saves Brandon Kilgore's Life
"Nothing Gets Him Down"
Brandon (right) and his mom, Tammi Bell.
On September 18, 2003, Brandon Kilgore made Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center history when he became the 400th kidney transplant recipient at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Today, Brandon is recovering nicely and is back to school with his classmates.
400th Kidney Transplant Recipient Looks Forward to Better Life
Seventeen-year-old Brandon Kilgore is a bright young man -- not just at school where he is an honors student, says his mother, Tammi Bell, but personally. "Brandon is always smiling. Nothing gets him down." That includes dealing with health complications like cerebral palsy, which has resulted in his having to navigate life in a wheelchair.
Still, Kilgore's optimism was tested more strongly than ever a little over a year ago when he went into kidney failure. As Bell tells it, Kilgore had lost nearly 20 lbs. in the months leading up to Aug. 17 -- his 16th birthday.
During the celebration, he received a number of cards and cash as gifts. A few days later, he had no memory of any of it.
An emergency trip to Kilgore's doctor revealed that his kidneys were in trouble. That was the beginning of a long series of treks from Dayton, Ohio, to Cincinnati Children's for dialysis four hours a day, three days a week.
Says Bell, "There is no dialysis for kids in Dayton."
The trips were a hardship for Bell, who works 12-hour days during the week and eight hours on Sunday. But they were even more of an ordeal for Kilgore. "I was very tired," he remembers, "and very miserable."
Kilgore managed to make Cincinnati Children's history on September 18, 2003, when he became the 400th kidney transplant recipient at Cincinnati Children's. Maria Alonso, MD, Pediatric Surgery, performed the delicate procedure, replacing his diseased kidneys with one of his mother's healthy ones. Both are recovering nicely.
The first kidney transplant was performed at Cincinnati Children's on June 5, 1965, by Lester Martin, MD. Not only was it the first kidney transplant at Cincinnati Children's, it was the first in Cincinnati and the state of Ohio.
At the time, it was considered risky and experimental. Just a few medical centers performed the surgery. Only one had attempted pediatric transplants, and very few at that. Today, Cincinnati Children's is at the forefront of offering kidney transplants.
Right away, Kilgore was looking forward to getting back to his classmates at Meadowdale High School in Dayton. He says, "I never missed a day before all this happened. The only bad thing is that just about the time I'll be able to return, we'll be going on break for the holiday."
Bell has high praise for Cincinnati Children's. "This is a nice hospital. It's like we have another family. With all we've been through together, I know I'll be taking these people with me for the rest of my life."
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