Preston's Journey
Donation protected
It's not everyday you come across a little human being who no matter what pain, stress or sickness hes feeling, he still has the capacity to make you laugh simply because of his infectious personality. He can rattle off his medications one by one just as easily as his doctor, he can tell you all about the tubes, the injections and dressings, with a confidence and understanding far beyond his age. He can explain to any doctor or nurse the ins and outs of a dialysis machine, it's purpose, it's functions and its alarms. He can educate you about inflows and outflows, levels of fluid and more and he's only the tender age of 8 yes 8. He is described often as the sick one of the family, the tiny one. He's 8 but the size and height alot less than children his age, resulting from kidney failure causing growth restriction. This said, what he lacks in physical height and size he certainly makes up for in character and personality. He lights up the room with his beautiful big brown eyes but its his smile that absolutely melts your heart. He's won over his doctor who no matter how many times he runs into me he will stop and talk about his little buddy, about this little mans zest for life, huge personality, his hilarious outlook on his disease and his dry and funny .
This little 8 year old soldier has endured endless procedures and sickness that no one should ever have to endure and still he smiles, dances when he's well and yes, twerks better than anyone hehe...
So Please allow me to introduce you to....Master Preston Santo....
Preston and his family, his Dad Eddie, mum Kimberley, and 5 wonderful brothers and sisters, Latrelle, Latisha, Justice, Edward and Bill have been on a roller coaster ride in life since Preston was diagnosed with kidney disease not long after birth.
Prestons family have been forced to move from their hometown of Charters Towers to be closer to medical care for Preston following many admissions to hospital. Before the move, each hospital stay meant a 2 hour road trip to Townsville, leaving either mum and dad at home to care for Prestons siblings.
Prestons Kidneys deteriorated quickly last year and the race was on to find a healthy matching kidney to save his life. He commenced daily dialysis after several gruelling surgeries in Brisbane.
On Wednesday 22nd June 2016, Prestons mum and dad recieved the phonecall theyve been longing for, a strong healthy matching kidney was found for Preston and he needed to be on the next plane to Brisbane.
Preston received the life saving gift of a healthy strong kidney last Thursday after a long 5 hour surgery..
Mum knows time is of the essence but shes no stranger to this either. Only earlier this year, preston and Kimberleys Tuesday went something like this....just before school finishes Kimberly gets a phonecall that they are to be in Brisbane the next morning for an appointment with the kidney transplant surgeon...OMG it's getting real, Kimberly rushes to school to pick up Preston to get him home and put him on the dialysis machine so he gets the full 11 hours before they need to be up at 4am, to be at airport at 5 for a 6 am flight. Mum Packs bag and continues to do all her motherly duties for the other 5 kids before finally falling asleep before midnight, then Wednesday 4 am rise an shine, complete dialysis and make it in time for 6am flight.. Preston can't believe it's still dark.. 9am arrive at hospital and Prestons hooked up to dialysis once again. But why he's just had 11 hours, so the doctors can see and monitor the flow and preciseness themselves. Preston is ever so patient and resilient this young soldier, not once complaining that he can't move from the bedchair till 4 pm, when he should be like healthy children and be running around the playground.
4pm arrives and he's unhooked and gets a night off, something neither Preston, Kimberly, Eddie and the siblings get to experience now Preston dialyses, but big plans of a night out in Brisbane city looking at the lights and having dinner are put to the side so Preston and Kimberly can have a nice early night, to be fresh for the following days full schedule.
Thursday arrives and Rise and shine at 6am to be ready waiting at the hospital for Prestons turn to see the Surgeon at 730am.. Back to hospital dialysis unit for further transplant education before quick trip to airport..
Arrive at airport at 3pm for a 5 pm flight which is delayed till 630pm, geez like it hasn't already been two long and tiring days, so, Whilst most parents are settling their 7 year olds to bed, our soldier is in mid flight still trying to get home.... and remarkably, still he smiles and laughs and accepts this is the journey he's on......Now that's strength and stuff only superheroes are made of.....
Preston had come to an extremely critical time of his very young life in that he was registered as requiring a kidney to survive. He was on the worldwide kidney donor transplant register. Aboriginal children tend to have a longer wait period for a perfect donor due to the specific DNA needs required for a perfect match. This meant Preston remained on nightly dialysis longer than most children, resulting in more admissions and trips to Brisbane, separation from his 5 siblings and one of his parents each time. It meant longer periods that Prestons parents had to avoid long term stable occupations resulting in financial strain. Without this new kidney, well....I can't find the words....but I think you can work it out.
Preston was fortunate though at this stage of his life, because as a young child he went to the top of the list.. When a suitable kidney match became available that matched he would receive it. that's because ONLY in QLD those under the age of 18 are a PRIORITY... This is WONDERFUL for Preston. This also meant that at any time night or day Kimberley and Eddie would receive the call to say they've found a match and they will need to be in Brisbane ready for surgery within 12 hours.... And the journey of transplantation and post transplant restrictions, must dos, can't do's, never do's would commence to ensure Prestons new kidney has the best possible chance of giving Preston the most wonderful childhood teenage and young adulthood he deserves.
Preston had become a regular in the LCCH Brisbane, with many admissions to the renal dialysis unit, 5D inpatient ward and his most favourite place by far the Starlight room where despite feeling rotten at times he would fill the room with laughs and smiles and even produced his own little interview on juice tv. Prestons most cherished visitor and now mate is Sam Thaiday from the Broncos but we won't tell dad who is a true blue titans fan...
Since Prestons lifevsaving Kidney transplant on june 22nd, Preston, mum and Dad will remain in Brisbane , having left their 5 children at home in Townsville with relatives for the next 2- 3 months.
It has been an extremely tough 2 years for Prestons mum and dad, as theyve face the challenge of not being able to secure permanent work as Prestons health status changed from day to day requiring both parents to be home with him and his siblings. Prestons brothers and sisters are such amazingly attentive siblings and eventhough they missed out on alot of fun activities most families take for granted, theyve not complained.
Preston, or as his dad calls him, soldier, has a journey ahead of him that will be long, stressful and painful but he will take it in his stride like all true super heroes do and be blessed with a long healthy life afterwards....this we truly do believe.
Now that Preston has had the kidney transplant, the challenging part starts for him and his family. Preston needs both his parents by his side and his siblings need regular contact with him and their mum and dad. the transplant, he will be confined to bed for most part and for most part in isolation to protect his body from any nasty germs. Preston loves grabbing my ipad each time he sees me and is such a quick learner and the ipad is something we would love to be able to provide Preston with. Games, lego art/craft materials to keep him engaged and enthused during this period are going to be extremely valuable to his well being and recovery.
Financial support whether big or small will be extremely valuable to Preston and his family as time apart gets longer. being able to afford to call the children regularly and for mum or dad to return home once or twice during the stay in Brisbane would be so beneficial to Preston and the family. Preston having access to multimedia that allows him to talk with his siblings and extended family face to face on screen during transplant and recovery would also be amazingly helpful.
Support is the key to a positive journey for Preston and his family.
So how can you support?
Please donate to Prestons Journey fund by going online to GofundmePrestonsJourney.. Every cent great or small is appreciated
Please donate Blood go to www.donateblood.com.au
and consider the life changing gift of organ donation .. Go to www.donatelife.org.au
This little 8 year old soldier has endured endless procedures and sickness that no one should ever have to endure and still he smiles, dances when he's well and yes, twerks better than anyone hehe...
So Please allow me to introduce you to....Master Preston Santo....
Preston and his family, his Dad Eddie, mum Kimberley, and 5 wonderful brothers and sisters, Latrelle, Latisha, Justice, Edward and Bill have been on a roller coaster ride in life since Preston was diagnosed with kidney disease not long after birth.
Prestons family have been forced to move from their hometown of Charters Towers to be closer to medical care for Preston following many admissions to hospital. Before the move, each hospital stay meant a 2 hour road trip to Townsville, leaving either mum and dad at home to care for Prestons siblings.
Prestons Kidneys deteriorated quickly last year and the race was on to find a healthy matching kidney to save his life. He commenced daily dialysis after several gruelling surgeries in Brisbane.
On Wednesday 22nd June 2016, Prestons mum and dad recieved the phonecall theyve been longing for, a strong healthy matching kidney was found for Preston and he needed to be on the next plane to Brisbane.
Preston received the life saving gift of a healthy strong kidney last Thursday after a long 5 hour surgery..
Mum knows time is of the essence but shes no stranger to this either. Only earlier this year, preston and Kimberleys Tuesday went something like this....just before school finishes Kimberly gets a phonecall that they are to be in Brisbane the next morning for an appointment with the kidney transplant surgeon...OMG it's getting real, Kimberly rushes to school to pick up Preston to get him home and put him on the dialysis machine so he gets the full 11 hours before they need to be up at 4am, to be at airport at 5 for a 6 am flight. Mum Packs bag and continues to do all her motherly duties for the other 5 kids before finally falling asleep before midnight, then Wednesday 4 am rise an shine, complete dialysis and make it in time for 6am flight.. Preston can't believe it's still dark.. 9am arrive at hospital and Prestons hooked up to dialysis once again. But why he's just had 11 hours, so the doctors can see and monitor the flow and preciseness themselves. Preston is ever so patient and resilient this young soldier, not once complaining that he can't move from the bedchair till 4 pm, when he should be like healthy children and be running around the playground.
4pm arrives and he's unhooked and gets a night off, something neither Preston, Kimberly, Eddie and the siblings get to experience now Preston dialyses, but big plans of a night out in Brisbane city looking at the lights and having dinner are put to the side so Preston and Kimberly can have a nice early night, to be fresh for the following days full schedule.
Thursday arrives and Rise and shine at 6am to be ready waiting at the hospital for Prestons turn to see the Surgeon at 730am.. Back to hospital dialysis unit for further transplant education before quick trip to airport..
Arrive at airport at 3pm for a 5 pm flight which is delayed till 630pm, geez like it hasn't already been two long and tiring days, so, Whilst most parents are settling their 7 year olds to bed, our soldier is in mid flight still trying to get home.... and remarkably, still he smiles and laughs and accepts this is the journey he's on......Now that's strength and stuff only superheroes are made of.....
Preston had come to an extremely critical time of his very young life in that he was registered as requiring a kidney to survive. He was on the worldwide kidney donor transplant register. Aboriginal children tend to have a longer wait period for a perfect donor due to the specific DNA needs required for a perfect match. This meant Preston remained on nightly dialysis longer than most children, resulting in more admissions and trips to Brisbane, separation from his 5 siblings and one of his parents each time. It meant longer periods that Prestons parents had to avoid long term stable occupations resulting in financial strain. Without this new kidney, well....I can't find the words....but I think you can work it out.
Preston was fortunate though at this stage of his life, because as a young child he went to the top of the list.. When a suitable kidney match became available that matched he would receive it. that's because ONLY in QLD those under the age of 18 are a PRIORITY... This is WONDERFUL for Preston. This also meant that at any time night or day Kimberley and Eddie would receive the call to say they've found a match and they will need to be in Brisbane ready for surgery within 12 hours.... And the journey of transplantation and post transplant restrictions, must dos, can't do's, never do's would commence to ensure Prestons new kidney has the best possible chance of giving Preston the most wonderful childhood teenage and young adulthood he deserves.
Preston had become a regular in the LCCH Brisbane, with many admissions to the renal dialysis unit, 5D inpatient ward and his most favourite place by far the Starlight room where despite feeling rotten at times he would fill the room with laughs and smiles and even produced his own little interview on juice tv. Prestons most cherished visitor and now mate is Sam Thaiday from the Broncos but we won't tell dad who is a true blue titans fan...
Since Prestons lifevsaving Kidney transplant on june 22nd, Preston, mum and Dad will remain in Brisbane , having left their 5 children at home in Townsville with relatives for the next 2- 3 months.
It has been an extremely tough 2 years for Prestons mum and dad, as theyve face the challenge of not being able to secure permanent work as Prestons health status changed from day to day requiring both parents to be home with him and his siblings. Prestons brothers and sisters are such amazingly attentive siblings and eventhough they missed out on alot of fun activities most families take for granted, theyve not complained.
Preston, or as his dad calls him, soldier, has a journey ahead of him that will be long, stressful and painful but he will take it in his stride like all true super heroes do and be blessed with a long healthy life afterwards....this we truly do believe.
Now that Preston has had the kidney transplant, the challenging part starts for him and his family. Preston needs both his parents by his side and his siblings need regular contact with him and their mum and dad. the transplant, he will be confined to bed for most part and for most part in isolation to protect his body from any nasty germs. Preston loves grabbing my ipad each time he sees me and is such a quick learner and the ipad is something we would love to be able to provide Preston with. Games, lego art/craft materials to keep him engaged and enthused during this period are going to be extremely valuable to his well being and recovery.
Financial support whether big or small will be extremely valuable to Preston and his family as time apart gets longer. being able to afford to call the children regularly and for mum or dad to return home once or twice during the stay in Brisbane would be so beneficial to Preston and the family. Preston having access to multimedia that allows him to talk with his siblings and extended family face to face on screen during transplant and recovery would also be amazingly helpful.
Support is the key to a positive journey for Preston and his family.
So how can you support?
Please donate to Prestons Journey fund by going online to GofundmePrestonsJourney.. Every cent great or small is appreciated
Please donate Blood go to www.donateblood.com.au
and consider the life changing gift of organ donation .. Go to www.donatelife.org.au
Organizer
Shan Watego
Organizer
Pallarenda QLD
