A team of transplant recipients and living donors from Texas Children’s are in Cleveland, Ohio this week competing in the Transplant Games of America. A group from Texas Children’s has participated in the games for the past several years and will this year compete in 13 different events including golf, baseball, tennis, poker, trivia and more.
“We all are very excited about the opportunity to participate in this event,” said Melissa Nugent, educational coordinator for Transplant Services and a chaperone at the games. “It’s amazing to be here and to see what these children are able to do because they were given the gift of life.”
One of Texas Children’s team members is 13-year-old Cade Alpard. Cade was diagnosed with biliary atresia at 6-weeks-old following being jaundiced at birth. He was put on the liver transplant list by six months of age and at 1-year-old received his transplant. The road to transplantation was anything but easy, though with Cade developing every complication known to biliary atresia and according to his mom, Jennifer Alpard, even inventing his own.
Before receiving a new liver, Cade had a host of issues that landed him in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit including an adverse reaction to an antibiotic and a central line infection. He was discharged and the family had round-the-clock nursing care at home because Jennifer and her husband, Scott Alpard, both continued to work full time. Cade was fed and given medication through his IV and one night his nurse sent in an order for routine labs, including liver and kidney functions. Jennifer received a confusing call from Texas Children’s Emergency Center that evening explaining Cade was in kidney failure. She asked, “Don’t you mean liver failure?”
The physician explained that because of the antibiotics reaching a toxic level, Cade was not only in liver failure, but also kidney failure and lost his hearing. That night, Cade was admitted to Texas Children’s for the 15th time in his short life and was immediately placed on dialysis. In addition to the liver and kidney failure, he also went into respiratory failure and found himself back in the PICU.
The Alpards were told that patients don’t usually recover from three organ failures, but they didn’t lose hope. Cade spent nine weeks in the PICU and his parents never left his side. One night, Jennifer awoke to Cade’s crib filled with blood. His nurse sprang into action and transfused his blood. A few hours later, the Alpards received the call they were anxiously waiting for – a liver was available.
Dr. John Goss, medical director of Texas Children’s Transplantation Program, and his team harvested a liver from a 3-year-old girl and transplanted it into 1-year-old Cade, who recovered well and went home on 15 different medications. At 15-months-old, Cade received a cochlear implant and began intensive physical, occupational and speech therapy at home and at Texas Children’s. Little by little he learned to crawl and then walk, he learned to swallow and eat normal foods and started down a path of a happy, healthy life.
Now, Cade is a typical 13-year-old boy who loves sports – especially baseball. He competes on a tournament team and plays catcher and second baseman. He’s known as a “diamond thief” because he steals home and is one of the fastest members of his team. Baseball is one of the events Cade is competing in this week at the Transplant Games of America. His dad will join him not only for support, but as a bone marrow transplant donor as well.
Watch an ABC-13’s story about Cade and his trip to the games here.
“These games are truly a celebration of life,” said Sarah Koohmaraie, a liver transplant coordinator, a living donor and a two-time participant in the Transplant Games of America. “It is a time to reflect upon the gift of life that was given by deceased and living donors and donor families.”
Heart Transplant Coordinator and Transplant Games of America chaperone Diana Harter agreed and said the games are a way to celebrate the journey of her patients, all that they’ve overcome and all that lies before them.
“It is a way to honor their hardships and struggles, while embracing gratitude that they are still here to do great things with their amazing gift,” she said. “I feel honored to share this experience with my patients and their families this year – it is an opportunity for us to celebrate the gift of life and remember those donors that made this possible for them.”