Ronald McDonald House helps family through kidney transplant trauma

A mother whose sick son finally received the kidney he desperately needed to save his life has told of the heartbreaking moment she learned the new organ was about to kill him.

Rebecca and Brett Reed with their children Charlotte, 10, Lachlan, 3, and Olivia, 7. Photo: Flair Media Co.

 

A mother whose sick son finally received the kidney he desperately needed to save his life has told of the heartbreaking moment she learned the new organ was about to kill him.

Rebecca and Brett Reed’s son Lachlan, 3, was born with a chronic kidney disease called Bilateral Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney. He has been on dialysis since he was 4.5 months old.

The family from Toowomba uprooted themselves, including Lachlan’s two older sisters, a year ago and moved to Ronald McDonald House SEQ in Brisbane so the little boy would be near to the Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Lachlan can’t walk or talk and has severe developmental delays.

Mrs Reed said the entire family were “full of excitement” when they were told earlier this year that Lachlan would finally get the kidney transplant he desperately needed.

Rebecca and Brett Reed with their children Charlotte, 10, Lachlan, 3, and Olivia, 7. Photo: Flair Media Co.

“We walked across the road from the Ronald McDonald House to the hospital, and we were both with him when he went into surgery and gave him a kiss and we said ‘be brave, and we’ll see you on the other side’,” she said.

“And then it was a long surgery.”

Things turned bad quickly. The kidney was too big for his little body, causing internal bleeding and putting too much pressure on his heart.

The doctor pulled Mr and Mrs Reed into a room and broke the news to them.

“I just remember hearing everything she was saying to us, but also being in an utter state of shock that if you were to look at me, you wouldn’t have thought I was listening,” she said.

“But obviously I heard everything she said. But basically we were told that the transplant surgeon was on her way back in and Lachlan’s kidney was not working.

“His heart was under pressure. He was internally bleeding, and essentially the kidney was killing him, and it needed to come out.

Brett Reed with his son Lachlan who has Bilaterial Multicystic Dysplatic Kidney. Photo: Supplied.

“And I remembered that the only thing I managed to get out of my mouth was, ‘are we going to lose him?’

“And she said, ‘I don’t know, but we need this out now, because this is bad’.”

Lachlan was raced into surgery - the third time within 24 hours - and the family had to say goodbye to him again.

Luckily, once the kidney was removed he bounced back immediately.

“We got our hopes up so much, and then it just felt like everything had just crumbled around us,” Mrs Reed said.

“It was very disheartening.”
Holding back tears Mrs Reed said the surgery had left her traumatised.

“I don’t think deep down that I’ll ever be over this, and it’ll always be in the back of my mind when it comes about again, when he’s eligible to have another kidney transplant again,” she said.

“I think I’ll always have that hidden fear deep down in the back of my mind that you know, what happens if this happens again?

“I think it’s something that will be with us for a very long time.”

Despite Lachlan not being able to communicate, she can tell the process has affected him.

“You can just see the fear in his face when things happen, and he just can’t express himself,” she said.

Brett and Rebecca Reed with their 3-year-old son Lachlan. Photo: Flair Media Co.

“He’s got severe medical trauma from everything that’s happened, especially in the last 12 months, and he’s so scared of a lot of things that never used to really bother him.”

Mrs Reed said the Ronald McDonald House helped them get through the tough times.

“The whole team at the house were just so supportive and everyone checked in on us every day, and we were, receiving messages from the team to check in on Lachie,” she said.

“If they saw us around the house, they’d ask how he was, and everybody was genuinely so concerned about him, because by that stage, we’d been there for over six months.”

Now realising they will need close care for at least another year, the family have moved out of the Ronald McDonald House and relocated to Brisbane.

McHappy Day is on Saturday November 16, with all proceeds going towards helping Ronald McDonald House Charities.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.

Originally published as Ronald McDonald House helps family through kidney transplant trauma