Parent's Name: Shelly and Scott Dowdle
Child's Name: Bryan
Child's Date of birth: 4/11/1992
Email: shellyd@bryanskidneypage.org
Location: Belgrade, Montana

Diagnosis: PUVs, grade 5 reflux, peritoneal dialysis 4+ years, kidney transplant 6/2007, autism

Story

We found out that Bryan had PUVs when I was 30 weeks pregnant. I had my first ultrasound and it showed almost no fluid around him and severely enlarged kidneys, ureters and bladder. We were told that he would be stillborn or die soon after birth.

Amazingly at 35 weeks he was born and his lungs had formed enough for him to only need a ventilator for about 4 hours. He was born with kidney failure and had his first surgery at 4 days old to place a vesicostomy. When he was 3 weeks old, the doctors didn't think we should treat him. They said he needed dialysis and babies didn't do well on dialysis.

We were too stubborn to listen to them, so we moved him to a different hospital in a different state. After we moved him, he started to improve a little and after having bilateral pyelostomies, he was able to avoid dialysis until he was 10 months old! He had an NG Tube at first, but once he got to come home (almost 2 months of age), he was eating his minimum of special formula all by mouth.

At 10 months old his doctors felt that it was time to start dialysis. His labs were pretty bad and he was not growing very well. He started peritoneal dialysis when he was just over 10 months old. At that time they also removed his PUVs, removed one non-functioning kidney, reimplanted the remaining ureter, and closed all his ostomies. He had some trouble getting started, but after three catheter placements, he was finally on PD and doing well.

He was on PD for just over 4 years until the doctors felt he was finally ready for a transplant. We had to fix his bladder first, but thankfully we narrowly avoided having bladder augmentation, and at the age of 5 years, Bryan got his transplant.

There has been a lot that has happened since then, an episode of rejection, a few other surgeries and procedures, but he's now almost 18 years old and 12 1/2 years post kidney transplant! He's doing great, especially for a baby that wasn't suppose to live past birth!