From the moment he was born, Luca has been full of surprises. He entered the world in February 2022, a month earlier than expected. Anticipating a baby girl, complete with a gender reveal celebration, Luca’s parents were surprised by his arrival. Their anatomy scan’s mistaken prediction left them pleasantly surprised by their baby boy.
Shortly thereafter, concerns arose regarding Luca’s kidney health, along with some unfavorable lab results. Luca was transported to the NICU and later taken to Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. “When the doctors at Inspira Mullica Hill started to get an inkling that Luca had serious kidney issues, they recommended right away that we be transferred to Nemours Children’s,” says his mother, Cory. “We appreciated their honesty so much, as they explained to us that they didn’t have the capability to deal with Luca appropriately. One doctor even said that if this was his child, he would have them transferred to Nemours immediately. That meant so much to us, and we feel so incredibly lucky that Nemours and Inspira are partners.”
There, he was started on peritoneal dialysis and continued every night for months. After enduring a 62-day stay in the NICU, Luca finally returned home. Throughout this period, Luca’s parents diligently administered his dialysis treatment each night. As Luca reached the requisite weight for a kidney transplant, a surgery date was scheduled for September 2023, with Luca’s father confirmed as the donor after undergoing rigorous testing. However, a setback emerged when pre-op tests revealed Luca had caught a cold, necessitating the surgery’s postponement to October. Finally, on his new surgery date, Luca underwent a successful kidney transplant, marking a pivotal moment in his journey toward recovery.
Nemours became not just a medical institution, but also a beacon of hope for Luca and his family. Cory recalls their experiences with fondness, “We have never had a bad experience with any staff members at Nemours. You can tell that every single person that works there is happy to be there. They care so much about these children, and it makes a difference. When we walk through the halls for appointments now, we get stopped every few feet by someone who used to care for Luca just so they can say hi and ask how he’s doing. They have that extra personal touch that means the world to us. Not to mention the knowledge that they all have. Our favorite thing about the Nemours staff is how friendly and sweet they were to Luca. Everyone treated him like he was their own.”
Today, Luca is recovering spectacularly from his surgery. “Prior to the transplant, Luca had a very strict bedtime routine so that we could get him on dialysis on time,” says Cory. “Now he has so much more freedom! We can also tell that he feels so much better since the surgery. He has more energy and is eating much better! Luca (and his dad) are recovering amazingly! You would never know that Luca just had a kidney transplant less than 4 months ago. He is a rockstar! We only have to go back and see the transplant team once a month now.”
Looking forward, Luca and his family are optimistic about his future thanks to the support of the Nemours Nephrology and Transplant teams. Cory’s shares this advice with others who are going through similar situations, “It’s going to get better. At first, you may be extremely overwhelmed with even just the news that your child is sick. I know we were completely shocked, and it was very hard to accept it. But we did, and the thing that kept our family going was just to look forward to the next step. We knew the end goal was to get Luca a new kidney, and we just kept moving forward until it was time. The routine will get easier, and if you have a great support system like we did, it won’t be as hard as it seems at first. By the end of this process, we were professionals at peritoneal dialysis! And in the end, it’s all worth it to see your child happy and healthy. We would have done this all a million times over just to see Luca where he is right now.”
Nemours Children’s Health boasts one of the nation’s most expansive pediatric transplant programs, specializing in heart, liver, and kidney procedures. Want to learn more about living donation at Nemours? Visit: https://www.nemours.org/services/solidorgantransplant.html
