Limile bounces back with a fresh chance
Boy, 5, given a new lease of life after kidney transplant
ACHARMING 5-year-old boy who is one of the longest surviving dialysis patients at Red Cross Children’s Hospital has been given a new lease of life after a kidney transplant. Limile, who was born with kidney dysplasia, a condition where the development of one or both kidneys is impaired in the womb, has undergone several operations and has dialysis every three days since he was one.
“With a severe shortage of organ donations in South Africa, children like Limile are waiting very long to receive a life-saving organ. The Red Cross Children’s Hospital has not performed any transplants since September 2016, yet it usually undertakes 10 renal transplants a year,” said Children’s Hospital Trust spokesperson Tammy Burdock.
When the hospital told Limile’s mother Portia there was a kidney available in May she was overwhelmed and had “mixed feelings about the transplant”.
“Everyone has been so supportive and helpful and I know Limile has been in good hands when we couldn’t be there. He is also very popular and everyone has just showered him with love,” Portia said.
Professor Mignon McCulloch, paediatric nephrologist and senior consultant for the paediatric intensive care unit (ICU) who has treated Limile “throughout his medical journey” said that it was his “strong spirit” that has pulled him through this time. “He is such a delightful cheeky little character and has the most committed family,” said McCulloch. “The kidney transplant surgery was a success and Limile’s tiny body took to his new kidney immediately. He only spent two days in the first of the newly upgraded ICU patient units and was then transferred to the E2 renal ward for recovery, ensuring that no infections occurred,” said Burdock.
With a will to be out and about, socialising with all his friends at the hospital, the nurses have had their hands full keeping an eye on Limile, reminding him to wear his mask when he leaves his isolation cubicle and to slow down when he is on the go.
“It’s because of ongoing support and commitment to his care, as well as the fact that quite frankly Limile has never allowed for any other possibility, that he will hopefully not need dialysis or another night in ICU again,” said Burdock.
THE KIDNEY TRANSPLANT SURGERY WAS A SUCCESS AND LIMILE’S TINY BODY TOOK TO HIS NEW KIDNEY IMMEDIATELY…