Kindergartner's life saved through transplant
News Tribune | Polly Powers Stramm, Savannah Morning News
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) â€" For her sixth birthday in June, Tess Kromenhoek was at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston where she was given a new kidney, a priceless gift that came seven months after she underwent a liver transplant in Chicago. Both surgeries were deemed necessary for the little girl last fall after she was diagnosed with a rare genetic liver disorder.
After a few complications, Tess finally is back in Savannah and enrolled in kindergarten at St. James Catholic School. For all intents and purposes, Tess looks and acts like a typical 6-year-old. She likes Barbie dolls, loves cuddling with her mom, dad and brothers, and enjoys playing with Lambert, the family dog.
But nothing was typical about Tess' condition a little less than a year ago. The discovery of a disorder called primary hyperoxaluria made her critically ill in a matter of hours and was a bolt out of the blue for the seemingly healthy child. As her mother Alison recalls, it was one day in September 2011 when Tess came home from pre-kindergarten feeling puny. Just two days later she was on a medical helicopter being flown to Augusta for treatment.
After the initial diagnosis, Alison and her husband, Jon, were dealt the blow that â€" to survive â€" their daughter would need two organ transplants. Tess was transferred to Chicago Children's Hospital to await a liver. (The disorder occurs when the liver doesn't produce an enzyme that prevents a buildup of a substance called oxalate, Alison explained. When the oxalates build up, they begin attacking other organs. In Tess' case, the first organs to be attacked were her kidneys.)
The Kromenhoeks decided that Tess and Alison would move into an apartment near the Chicago hospital while Jon would stay in Savannah with their two sons, Mac, 8, and 6-year-old Luke.
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) â€" For her sixth birthday in June, Tess Kromenhoek was at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston where she was given a new kidney, a priceless gift that came seven months after she underwent a liver transplant in Chicago. Both surgeries were deemed necessary for the little girl last fall after she was diagnosed with a rare genetic liver disorder.
After a few complications, Tess finally is back in Savannah and enrolled in kindergarten at St. James Catholic School. For all intents and purposes, Tess looks and acts like a typical 6-year-old. She likes Barbie dolls, loves cuddling with her mom, dad and brothers, and enjoys playing with Lambert, the family dog.
But nothing was typical about Tess' condition a little less than a year ago. The discovery of a disorder called primary hyperoxaluria made her critically ill in a matter of hours and was a bolt out of the blue for the seemingly healthy child. As her mother Alison recalls, it was one day in September 2011 when Tess came home from pre-kindergarten feeling puny. Just two days later she was on a medical helicopter being flown to Augusta for treatment.
After the initial diagnosis, Alison and her husband, Jon, were dealt the blow that â€" to survive â€" their daughter would need two organ transplants. Tess was transferred to Chicago Children's Hospital to await a liver. (The disorder occurs when the liver doesn't produce an enzyme that prevents a buildup of a substance called oxalate, Alison explained. When the oxalates build up, they begin attacking other organs. In Tess' case, the first organs to be attacked were her kidneys.)
The Kromenhoeks decided that Tess and Alison would move into an apartment near the Chicago hospital while Jon would stay in Savannah with their two sons, Mac, 8, and 6-year-old Luke.
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