Help David Joseph Brown’s story reach someone new.
Our son, David Joseph Brown, was diagnosed with a congenital malformation before he was born, at around 22 weeks gestation, February of last year. The malformation lowered amniotic fluid levels necessary for lung development and caused severe damage to David’s kidneys. We spent the next 14 weeks undergoing multiple fetal procedures to attempt to bypass the obstruction, doing weekly monitoring, and transferring care from Grand Rapids to Ann Arbor as we prepared to welcome baby David after I matched at Corewell Royal Oak. We had no way of knowing until after he was born if he would have functioning lungs and be able to survive. We knew if he did survive, one or both of his kidneys had most likely failed due to the damage from his congenital malformation.
My water broke at 34 weeks, two days after I walked in my medical school graduation and the day after Mother’s Day. After Martin and I spent two weeks in the hospital, David Joseph was born at 36 weeks last May with perfectly functioning lungs. However, doctors confirmed both of David’s kidneys had indeed failed. He needed to start dialysis in order to survive and start his journey to a life-saving kidney transplant shortly after 1-year old. He then underwent several surgeries starting on his first day of life in order to start peritoneal dialysis. After 7 weeks in the NICU, we finally brought David home to our new house in Royal Oak in July and continued his journey towards transplant.
4 fetal procedures. 5 surgeries. 80+ days in the hospital. Nightly dialysis. And through it all, each and every day, he’s always been an absolute, undeserved gift. He smiles, laughs, and explores the world around him.
We love David so much and are so honored to be his parents who get to shepherd him through his life. We learn so much from him each and every day. So many kind people have already stepped forward and been tested to help him — and we are endlessly grateful. But we’re still searching for an eligible adult donor.
Please consider learning more about living kidney donation. Please share with anyone and everyone to help us give our son, David, one of God’s greatest gifts to us, the gift of a kidney from a living donor.
Life in pictures
