12-Year-Old Needs a New Kidney

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Photo Submitted of Leaven Wilson

Murfreesboro, TN - A young man in Murfreesboro, Tennessee is in need of the communities help… in the form of a kidney transplant. Leaven Wilson, a former Blackman Elementary School student, is currently awaiting the process of doctors seeking the perfect kidney match for the 12-year-old. Making matters more difficult, Leaven's blood type is O+, which means the donated kidney will have to come from an O+ blood type donor.

His father Elijah Wilson is hopeful that Leaven will be home this summer and able to begin his next school year in-person at Blackman Middle School. But for now, Leaven is staying with his mom in Colorado where the transplant will take place.

It has been tough on the entire family, especially on Leavan’s older brother Atticus and their dad Elijah who continue to go to school and work in Tennessee while Leavan receives specialized care in the area of Denver, Colorado, which is almost 1,200 miles away. There, Leavan’s mom, who is retired from the U.S. Air Force, is able to take the 12-year-old to and from therapy, doctor’s appointments at the hospital and more. Sometimes, Leavan has to visit the medical facility 3-times per week.

Back in Murfreesboro, Leavan’s older brother continues his daily routine attending Blackman High School while their dad Elijah at Honda of Murfreesboro. Elijah, who works in the parts department, said when he told his General Manager what was happening with his son, the manager’s first response was that he is there to help, even with rides to and from the airport – just let him know what was needed.

Hear the entire 13-minute interview with the family:

If you would like to help the Wilson family, you are encouraged to donate funds into a special account that is organized by COTA, which stands for the Children’s Organ Transplant Association. The non-profit focuses on helping children receive not only one kidney, but 3 over a child’s lifetime. While their initial goal of $50,000 has already been reached, the medical cost will far exceed that amount as Leavan ages. The fund will also pay for Leavan’s transportation to and from the hospital and for his family to stay at a nearby hotel. Keep in mind, the fund is overseen by COTA and is reserved for Leavan to utilize for his current medical needs and future surgeries as well.

Funds donated into Leavan’s COTA account are reserved for paying for his first transplant, followed by a second 20-years later and a third kidney transplant when he is about 52-years-old. Most people fail to realize that kidney transplant recipients typically need a new kidney every 20-years, which is the lifetime of a transplanted kidney. See the COTA website to donate by clicking HERE or visiting COTA.org/campaigns – and then type in Leavan’s Murfreesboro Zip Code of 37128. After that, a picture of Leaven will pop-up.

Josh may need your kidney

At the age of 21 in 2009, Joshua Surovey was diagnosed with having a chronic kidney disease.

During what would normally be a simple biopsy to see what exactly his kidney was doing, things went wrong. He nearly died twice and had to receive 6 blood transfusions. Despite the mishap, the kidney problems were still there.

In 2012, Surovey started dialysis and worked hard to get healthy losing 160 pounds along the way. He was also told that he needed a kidney transplant, news that is often devastating.

Surovey said that the journey has been mentally exhausting. His first thought was, "Why me?" He said, "I was down on myself."

However, those feelings of depression soon changed even though the kidney is still needed today. It was as if after the initial shock, a fire was lit underneath Surovey and he had a new found passion to live. Surovey said, "God brought me through this man, honestly." He went on to state, "I'm looking forward to life, I'm living life!"

Lebanese-American artist Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) once stated, "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." Some would suggest that Surovey is on track to stand strong in the near future, while others would agree he is already stronger than most.

While he is happy to be alive, 12 hours of dialysis every single night is quite cumbersome. He has to go through about three bags of fluid nightly. Surovey stated, “Every night, there’s no breaks.”

The fluids to undergo dialysis at home are shipped to Surovey. Two bags of fluids are in one box and the box weighs 35 pounds. Keep in mind, he uses three bags nightly. So, if the 28-year old heads out of town for 5 nights, he has to bring with him a little over 260 pounds of fluids to use in the dialysis machine. In other words, Surovey says that travel is “troublesome.”

Right now, Surovey is not married and does not have children, but that is one of his long term goals. “Everything that I’m doing I’m trying to better myself so I can be there for my family in the long run,” Surovey said. In further discussing the idea of starting his own family he said, “I don’t want to be in a situation where my health is going to decline and I can’t provide for them, so I’m trying to get myself to where I can have a good career at the end of this and start a family.”

Surovey confirmed that he is in need of a Type O donor and that the donor will be able to live a normal healthy life after donating.

The National Kidney Foundation reports that many people who need a transplant of a kidney fail to receive one due to a lack of donors. Right now there are over 101,000 Americans in need a kidney, but only 17,000 people receive one each year. Furthermore, 12 people die daily while waiting on a kidney to be donated.

After donating a kidney, the donor can easily live a normal, full life as if the donation never occurred. Reports also indicate that the donor’s medical bills are fully covered by the insurance of the kidney recipient. If something should go wrong for the donor in the future, their name is automatically placed at the top of the kidney donor list.

Once a kidney is located for Surovey, who currently lives in Clarksville, Tennessee, the procedure will be done at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. Vanderbilt has one of the oldest and most experienced kidney transplant programs in the United States, having performed over 4,000 transplants since its inception in 1962. According to the Vanderbilt Division of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, “The Division was also the first transplant program in Tennessee to introduce the minimally invasive technique of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy for living donor kidney transplants, and now performs the largest number of living donor kidney transplants in the state.”

If you would like to learn how you can donate or to see if you are a match, CLICK HERE today. You can also call the Vanderbilt Kidney Transplant Center at 615-936-0695.