The Franklin News-Post
P. O. Box 250
310 Main Street, SW
Rocky Mount, Virginia 24151
540-483-5113
Fax: 540-483-8013
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| The teen is awaiting results from latest treatment |
File Photo by Morris Stephenson:
Storm Davis, 13, awaits the results from a recent treatment before she can again become eligible for a kidney transplant. Above, she posed last September for a photo with CoCo, one of her faithful canine companions.
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Monday, July 9, 2012
By LEIGH PROM - Staff Writer
Cheyenne Storm Davis, 13, of Callaway must spend a month waiting for the results from a Rituximab treatment before learning if she is eligible for another kidney transplant.
The teen, who has had kidney problems since she was 4 years old and has lived without kidneys since 2008, underwent the treatment last week to prepare her body for another kidney transplant, according to her mother, Julie Davis.
The family is hopeful that the $10,000 treatment, which is not covered by insurance, will be effective, Julie Davis said. Rituximab is designed to help the body rid itself of enzymes that are harmful to transplanted kidneys.
Eligibility for another kidney transplant will only be possible if Storm's body has rid itself of the harmful enzymes, Julie Davis said.
Storm received a kidney from a deceased organ donor in July 2005. The kidney lasted almost three years before her body rejected it. Her mother said it was removed in January 2008.
Since the rejection, Storm has undergone nightly dialysis treatments, lasting from seven to eight hours. Sometimes it takes as many as 12 hours to complete the dialysis cycle.
Storm also takes 19 different types of medication daily, including injections. And she also has undergone 19 surgeries since 2004, most of them minor.
Another health concern for Storm is scoliosis, which is rapidly progressing, Julie Davis said. Back surgery is probable at this point.
Julie Davis said her child's problem first started in July 2003, when the iron in her blood count kept dropping. Dr. Rene Vamenta of the Children's Clinic sent her to a specialist in Roanoke. Two days later, in November, she was at the University of Virginia's Medical Center in Charlottesville, her mother said. She was diagnosed with renal dysplasia, a birth defect of her kidneys.
Doctors started Storm on medications and informed the parents it was just a matter of time before she would have to go on dialysis. On July, 13, 2004, Storm received her first dialysis treatment at the age of 4.
Almost a year later, Storm received the transplanted kidney that eventually failed. After it was removed, the long dialysis treatments started once again.
If the latest treatment works, the family will continue its search for a live donor, which would give their daughter a better chance of accepting the kidney.
The family lives in a mobile home on Little Brook Lane, off Grassy Hill Road. Much of the living space is used to store a month's supply of Storm's required medications. Half of the hallway in the home is stacked to the ceiling with cardboard boxes, containing the bags of four different IV fluids used during the nightly dialysis treatment.
Beside Storm's bed is a shelf that contains her dialysis machine, along with more medicine. She does her part to help. She has learned how to get the dialysis machine and meds ready, and she can start the treatment herself.
Meanwhile, Storm will be going to Camp Holiday Trails for the first time this week, according to her mother. The Charlottesville camp is for youth with special health needs.
Julie Davis said she is looking forward to the break, and Storm is eager to experience a more normal life as a teenager.
To contribute to Storm's mounting medical expenses, call 540-483-2942 or 540-243-1699. |
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