麻豆果冻传媒

For Release: May 01, 2013

Palo Alto, Calif. - Lori Vargas, mom of 15-year-old Taylor Simpson, said that donating a life-saving kidney to her daughter wasn鈥檛 that big of a deal, even though it was.

鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing you wouldn鈥檛 do for your child to make them healthy,鈥� Lori said. She never had any doubts, even committing herself to lose almost 40 pounds -- climbing stairs 鈥渓ike a madwoman鈥� so that she would be fit enough to give a kidney to her only child. It was an impressive commitment, and it led to mom having one of her kidneys removed April 2 at Stanford Hospital & Clinics by surgeon Waldo Concepcion, MD, who then dashed down to Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital, home to America鈥檚 #1 pediatric kidney transplant program. There, this icon of kidney transplant -- who once led five transplants in two days -- successfully implanted Lori鈥檚 kidney into a waiting Taylor.聽

It was a new beginning for Taylor, and a happy end to a dramatic story. A month before her 14th birthday in November 2011, Taylor was enjoying a normal teenage life in Watsonville, Calif., when she was hit with sudden, flu-like symptoms that turned into vomiting blood. She was rushed to a local hospital and then taken by ambulance to Packard Children鈥檚, where blood tests and CT scans showed Taylor had end-stage kidney failure along with bleeding in her lungs.聽

She was diagnosed with Goodpasture syndrome. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an extremely rare and life-threatening autoimmune disease, and it happens to previously healthy people without warning,鈥� said nephrologist Paul Grimm, MD, Medical Director of the kidney transplant program at Packard Children鈥檚. 鈥淗er body was attacking the filters of her kidney and also the blood vessels of her lungs.鈥� The rare disease was discovered by pathologist Ernest Goodpasture while conducting a study of the flu pandemic in 1919.聽

It was the beginning of a long and exhausting medical journey. Lori and Taylor soon were on a two-hour drive to Packard Children鈥檚 four times a week for kidney dialysis, and there were multiple rounds of immunosuppressant medications and plasmapheresis, a process to purify the blood. All to fight the disease raging through her body.

However, it eventually became clear that the damage to Taylor鈥檚 kidneys was too severe to avoid a transplant. Mom was ready. 鈥淔rom the get-go, I planned on being Taylor鈥檚 donor,鈥� Lori said. To receive mom鈥檚 kidney, doctors had to be certain that Taylor鈥檚 immune system stopped producing the deadly Goodpasture antibodies -- so there would be no danger of her body attacking the new organ. Plus, she needed to be steroid-free for six months, thus pushing the wait into 2013.

Despite all of her treatments and waiting, Taylor never stopped cracking jokes with Packard Children鈥檚 staff and devoting herself to her artwork and homework. She became great buddies with her rheumatologist Nina Washington, MD, and nephrologist Orly Haskin, MD, while keeping up with school via dialysis unit teacher Katie Fennimore and a 鈥淭aylor鈥�-made Individualized Education Program. 鈥淭he care teams at Packard Children鈥檚 treated me like a normal person instead of a sick kid,鈥� she said. In the meantime, Lori lost the weight and got the 鈥渢humbs up鈥� on February 6 to be a donor. Taylor crossed the finish line of being steroid- and antibody-free this spring, thus being healthy enough for the April transplant. A big bonus: After plasmapheresis and a strict medication regimen designed to get rid of the antibodies in her blood, Taylor鈥檚 lungs have fully recovered.聽

鈥淚 think my mom is beyond awesome,鈥� Taylor said of her mother鈥檚 decision to donate. Now, as Taylor continues to recover from her April transplant and readies to go home, she鈥檚 focusing on the dreams that mom鈥檚 kidney has made possible. She鈥檚 got a very busy career ahead -- including becoming a bilingual animal rights activist, a yoga teacher and a cop -- but first, she wants to line up some food she has been missing, including potatoes, milk and tomatoes. Taylor couldn鈥檛 eat the yummy but potassium-rich foods prior to her transplant -- as patients with kidney disease have a hard time excreting potassium in their urine, causing a buildup that could result in cardiac failure, Haskin said.聽

With potatoes and a glass of milk in hand, the high school freshman has a simple summer plan: 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to going to the beach and finally being able to swim,鈥� Taylor said, who has been unable hit the waves due to a hemodialysis catheter in her chest that is now gone. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait for my freedom,鈥� said Taylor, who should be returning home to Watsonville in May. It鈥檚 a freedom she鈥檒l never forget, thanks to advanced medical care, organ donation, and a very loving mom who would do the same thing again and again and again -- and not just for her only child.聽

鈥淚f I had more than one kidney I could donate,鈥� said Lori, 鈥淚鈥檇 keep donating to other patients at Packard Children鈥檚. Taylor and I really know what these kids on dialysis go through while waiting for a new kidney, and I鈥檇 like to provide this gift of life to every one of them.鈥�

Authors

Winter Johnson聽
(650) 498-7056
wijohnson@stanfordchildrens.org