Kelsey Crider is an amazing young lady. She is a Boulder native and just graduated from Boulder High School in June 2007. Two weeks after graduation she had some blood work done to ensure that she was healthy and ready to go to college. Kelsey was accepted for her freshman year at Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. She was so excited as this was the exact school she wanted to attend in order study photography. She didn’t even apply to other schools as this was her dream! She was so ready begin the next exciting chapter in her life.
Kelsey’s test results came back from her blood work that she was anemic and her hematocrit was low. Additional tests were done which confirmed this. Kelsey was then referred to Children’s Hospital in Denver to further explore why her blood count was low. The appointment was on June 15. She and her mom [Debbie] were there early in the morning and a little nervous too. They were expecting a scolding about nutrition and Kelsey not eating healthy foods [along with her normal junk food diet]. Blood was drawn and tests were run, and re-run, and re-run as the results were disturbing. By 5:00 pm that day [after more tests and an ultrasound] they were meeting with the head of the kidney department and diagnosed with medullary cystic kidney disease. This is a hereditary disorder in which cysts develop deep within each kidney causing the kidney to gradually lose its ability to work. Kelsey’s kidney function at that point was 12%. The doctor told them that she was suffering from kidney failure and would need a transplant. Kelsey and her mom were in utter and complete shock as they left the hospital.
The next few months were a blur to them. Kelsey’s dream of going to college was put on hold. Kelsey had fistula surgery in order to do dialysis as her kidney function was declining each day. She began dialysis in September 2007. They looked to the family for a possible donor. As luck would have it Kelsey’s dad [Steve] was a great match. They had the transplant surgery at University Hospital on October 31, 2007. University Hospital is one of the top ranked transplant facilities in the country. Everything was looking great post-surgery. Steve was healing well, and Kelsey was walking circles around everyone on the transplant floor. Steve was out of the hospital 3 days later. However, things started to turn badly for Kelsey.
Her body began to reject the new kidney. She and her mom ended up staying in the hospital for most of the month of November and the first part of December. The team was amazing at University. The doctors adopted Kelsey as one of their own. Every time they walked into her room she gave them a great big smile. Kelsey’s doctors and Kelsey put up a valiant, brilliant fight to save the kidney. They gave Kelsey many, many anti-rejection medications, as well as massive amounts of steroids in order to suppress her immune system. Unfortunately, being 18 and strong, Kelsey’s immune system would not submit. She ended up having 3 surgeries over the course of her stay at the hospital, and her surgeon finally took the kidney out on Thursday, December 6. This was devastating.
Kelsey went home to recover from all of the surgeries and all of the medications she’s had to endure. Her doctors wanted her to rest and heal before conducting another transplant. As a result, Kelsey gave up her hope of going to Ft. Lewis any time soon. Words cannot express how heartbreaking that was to Kelsey. Kelsey had to resume dialysis three times a week. A family friend stepped forward in March 2008 to donate his kidney to Kelsey. The surgery took place in April. Once again it looked as if the transplant would be a success. However, having that strong immune system, Kelsey ended up rejecting the kidney. She and her doctors once again put up a heroic fight to save the kidney, but it wasn’t meant to be. The kidney was removed in June after another long stay in the hospital.
Since July 2007, Kelsey has had a total of 7 surgeries, and a huge amount of immune suppression medications and steroids. She is back on dialysis again. She is now focusing on mending her body and spirit so she can be strong for the next round. Kelsey’s family is currently looking for another kidney donor through family and friends. Hopefully they will be able to find someone quickly. Kelsey has maintained a positive attitude and always a sense of hope throughout this ordeal. The past year would have been so much harder without the support and love of friends and family.