What can you give a dad who has given you the gift of life not once, but twice? This Father’s Day, Lance Hubbard, 14, of Houston, Texas, is feeling extra grateful for dad Brodrick donating his kidney, allowing the boy to live like a typical teen.
“My dad is a great example of what it takes to be a good man, loving father and a hero,” Lance tells. “I hope to one day live up to the sacrifice. He works really hard and does a lot for our family.”
When asked what he would like for Father’s Day this year, Brodrick, 36, jokes “I don’t know, maybe another kidney.”
Lance and Brodrick are still recovering at home from the May 24 transplant at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, which has the largest pediatric transplant program in the country.
The average recovery time is four to six weeks and both were still feeling a little fatigued and sore 20 days post-surgery.
“Regardless of the side effects, I want to provide him a life. It was a no-brainer,” says Brodrick, who works as an operations manager for Ryder System, Inc. “I was out of the hospital the next day and walking. I think everybody was really surprised at how quickly I recovered.”
The father of three says his middle son has endured a lot to get to this place.
“He’s very strong,” Brodrick says. “I knew if anybody was able to overcome it, it would be him.”
A normal life was snatched from Lance and his family when he was just 5 and diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.
“At 5, Lance still had 10 to 15 years of development and faced big challenges to develop normally,” says Dr. Eileen Brewer, Medical Director of Renal Transplantation at Texas Children’s Hospital, and Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.
“You need growth hormones to keep growing but that doesn’t work as well when children have kidney failure,” adds Brewer.
His parents discovered he had kidney disease after he fell ill and Kendria noticed his hands and feet were swelling and her little foodie was no longer interested in eating or drinking.
“When we first found out about it, being at the hospital and him going through all these testings and surgeries (to put in a dialysis port), it got to me mentally,” Brodrick says. “I did break down at times seeing my son go through those things.”
Although he was able to go off dialysis, doctors warned it was just a matter of time before he would need to either go back on it or get a transplant.
Brodrick says, “We’re a pretty strong-willed family. We believe in God and I always felt we had whatever tools necessary to correct the issues that were going on.”
Now instead of navigating a life filled with medications, hemodialysis and restrictions, he can finally think about playing a rousing game with his basketball-loving dad and brothers LeBron, 16 and Karter, 7.
“I want to play basketball without my mom being worried and I want to play without getting tired,” Lance says.
Kidneys are the unsung heroes of the body, providing a special filter system removing waste products, toxins and fluids. They also help control levels of calcium, phosphorus and potassium as well as controlling blood pressure and production of red blood cells.
But when they begin shutting down, patients must endure an incredibly strict diet to help relieve the burden on the failing organs. Foods with high potassium, phosphorous and salt – think no chips and salsa or even spinach – are out. And liquids are cut to about 32 oz a day. Dialysis, a poor replacement for the natural organs, will eventually take over, leaving patients unable to urinate on their own.
“The doctors take away their food and limit their drinking,” mom Kendria, 35, says. “So it was very difficult for Lance to maintain a normal life.”
Not that he didn’t make an effort to do so. He played on his school’s football team as a defensive end last fall. But when he started dialysis in September, his symptoms got worse. It is not unusual to develop “brain fog” as a result of the toxins not being completely removed by dialysis.
Lance’s grades started to dwindle a little bit because he was not able to concentrate, Kendria says. He would say often that the teacher would be giving lectures and he could not pay attention and he was not able to always formulate certain thoughts.
“And then some meds make him a little jittery,” Kendria says. “So school was not fun at all.”
He eventually left school prior to his transplant.
There was never a doubt in Brodrick’s mind that when the time came for him to donate a kidney to his son, he would gladly do that. With support from Kendria, he lost about 15 lbs. and got into shape for his operation.
While Lance has only had a short time with his new kidney, he’s enjoying things most take for granted: Drinking as much water as he wants and eating roast beef. “I ate an entire bag of tacos,” he adds.
He looks forward to starting high school this fall, spending time outside with friends and family and going crawfishing (“Crawfish boils are really big in my family”).
As for his gift to his dad for Father’s Day, he’s planning on cooking breakfast in bed and giving him a promise.
“I’ll take my anti-rejection medications and remain hydrated to preserve my kidney as long as possible and make my dad proud,” he adds.