The Fabulous Life of Derek and Monet

Derek was born May 2004. When he was 10 days old he was examined and released from the ER saying that the vomiting was probably a little bug and to see the pediatrician the next business day. At 17 days old we rushed Derek to the hospital again, at that point he was critically ill some of the numbers in his blood work represented a baby who should not be alive but Derek was alert and fighting death at that early age. He spent 3 1/2 weeks in the hospital. Once he was released we knew that when he hit 22 pounds he would be looking to a kidney transplant for survival & life.

22 pounds sounds easy doesn’t it? But it wasn’t after NG tubes (tube placed through the nose into the stomach) for extra feedings. A botched G-tube that missed and went through his colon at 9 months put him in ICU for 10 days and nearly killed him. His life has been anything but easy. Derek reached 22 pounds just before his 2nd birthday, when I stopped his G-tube feedings and really focused on normal eating. What was amazing was his kidneys held strong and he still wasn’t needing a transplant yet, we had MORE TIME.

Just days before the surgery for the G-tube, I (Destiny & Mommy) had emergency surgery for a ruptured etopic pregnancy. I spent 3 days in the hospital not able to care for Derek and filling myself full of grief and guilt because of it. I have learned to let some of that guilt go in order to continue to care for Derek, and now Monet.

Steve (Daddy) has been as strong as he can watching our “fairy tale” take its own twists and turns and at times has been nowhere near ‘Happily Ever After’ at times. He works long hard hours and pulls many days of over time and off duty just to keep a roof over our heads and yet he comes home everyday safe and tries to be the best daddy and husband he can.

In September of 2005 I was once again pregnant and scared. It was a rough and bumpy pregnancy it all ended wonderfully in May of 2006, just 4 days after Derek turned 2. Monet fits into our family so perfectly and I am amazed at how much I missed through depression and running to doctors as Derek went from being an infant to being a toddler. I thank god for giving me another chance to experience this and able to enjoy it a bit this time around. Derek is a wonderful, but at times a bit rough, big brother. He shows Monet the ropes around our home and how he thinks things should be done and she follows, throwing him a few curves along the way.

December 2006 Derek got Scarlett Fever for Christmas his kidneys were seriously damaged from that. During 2007 we fought to keep him off dialysis and keep him healthy so he could get a transplant ASAP. After many long and emotional struggles, Derek received a kidney transplant, August 30, 2007 at UCLA Medical Center’s Mattel Children’s Hospital. The donor was his daddy, Steve, our hero.

And this is where we begin this blog our trek post transplant with 2 toddlers and trying to give them both a “normal” life.

Please feel free to comment and ask questions. We have learned so much through this and want to share what we have learned and are learning as we go.  We have been blessed by the support of wonderful family, friends, co-workers, acquaintences and strangers. We found the right doctors to treat our children and us as a family and you’ll see it all here on …THE FABULOUS LIFE OF DEREK & MONET.