The power of a mother’s love: Kenny and Nancy’s story

Kenny and his mother have a lot in common, like their shared sense of humor or their mutual love of shopping. While every mother and son relationship is special, Kenny and his mom share a bond that is very unique—the kind of connection that’s only truly understood by a small group of people. An early start on life Kenny was born six weeks premature in 1992 to proud first-time parents Nancy and Kevin Hadley. Like any new parents, Nancy and Kevin were nervous—there’s so much to learn in those first few weeks and no one to teach you. The fact that Kenny was a tiny preemie just added to their uncertainty. Then, when the young couple was just starting to get the hang of parenting, everything changed. At just 11 weeks old, Kenny started getting very sick and vomiting. His worried parents rushed him to a pediatrician, who sent them to a Boston hospital for further testing. It was here that Nancy and Kevin learned that Kenny had biliary atresia, a condition that caused his liver’s bile duct to clog, creating a dangerous build up of toxins in his system. He quickly had surgery to open the clogged duct, but it was only a temporary solution; to grow up healthy and strong, Kenny would eventually need a liver transplant. “The doctors put him on the waiting list for a new liver, but because of his small size and a lack of suitable organs, we were told the wait could take a long time,” Nancy says. “But time was a luxury Kenny didn’t have. We st...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: All posts Liver transplant our patients' stories Pediatric Transplant Center (PTC) Source Type: news