The most wonderful thing happened at Kidney Kamp. I just have to blog about it somewhere! My daughter has a really good friend named Aubry at Kidney Kamp. A pretty young girl from Alpine who showed up to Kamp about 4 years ago because she lost her kidney function and had to go on dialysis. The girls always swim and play raquetball and have fun the whole weekend together. Although Aubry's13, she's the size of an 8 year old, but has a really sharp wit and a good attitude. They look forward to seeing each other every year. Aubry's whole family has been tested to see if they are a match for a kidney transplant but she's the only one in the family with her blood type. So she's been on the waiting list for 4 years, doing dialysis 3 days a week. My daughter, who is too young, has even asked me if she could possibly be considered as a donor. But last night, her parents got a call from the pediatric transplant center and were told there would be a kidney ready for Aubry in 2 hours. Tragically, a family lost a teenager in an accident in California on Friday, and that boy became the donor after his family made the decision. It's such a heartbreaking choice. I can't even imagine what that would be like to make such a choice at the very moment you are loosing your child. But the generosity of that donor family in that critical moment will bless Aubry for her whole lifetime, and perhaps even ease some their tragic loss. When we heard the news that Aubry was heading to Salt Lake to receive her new kidney the whole camp, of about 275 people went into applause and cheers. All of the attendees either dialysis patients, transplant patients,or kidney donors. Before she left for the hospital, Aubry and my daughter hugged and looked at each other for a second. Aubry looked scared. So my daughter looked at her and said "Next year at Kidney Kamp your new kidney will have probably made you taller than me!" She said it with such confidence, conviction, and hope. I got choked up and could hardly look at Aubry's mother or the girls as they waved goodbye to each other. Bless that donor family. Aubry's at the U getting the transplant right this minute (1:00 p.m. Sunday). I hope the transplant will be successful both for Aubry's sake, and for that of the family who lost thier son.
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