Avery Livingston was born with VATER syndrome, which consists of an association of vertebral abnormalities, anal atresia, cardiovascular defects, tracheoesophageal fistula, esophageal atresia, renal agenesis or dysplasia and limb abnormalities. In March 2000, Avery underwent a kidney transplant with a kidney donated from her father. Though her recovery process has been long and difficult, she is now a happy eighth grader.

Avery's Story

I was born with something called VATER Syndrome. Every letter stands for something that was wrong. The first thing was my esophagus. It was not connected to my stomach, so that was my first surgery the day after I was born. I have had operations to replace my esophagus, fix my hands, and stop my ureter reflux. That was supposed to be my last surgery, but it was also the start of my bladder problems. When I was 8 we got my bladder under control, but then I got the flu. It lasted a long time and ended with my losing my kidneys.

We tried peritoneal dialysis, but that did not work because of my operation scars. We then traveled to Chicago three days a week for hemo-dialysis. The next year my dad gave me one of his kidneys, but before the transplant I had to have more operations. I had my kidneys taken out and my bladder rebuilt. It took a long time for my new kidney to get healthy; I had a lot of infections. The doctors at Children’s Memorial have my kidney working pretty good. I would really like to thank all the doctors and nurses who have taken care of me and are now my friends.

So, the biggest change in my life is that there are new people I care about and that care about me. I go to Middle School now; I am going into 8th Grade. I really love my school. I have so many good friends and everyone in the school knows me and says “Hi” all the time. I am not very tall or strong, so the teachers and classmates help me to get into my locker and carry heavy things. My teachers are all super nice to me and give me extra time on the assignments. I have extra teachers that come in to help me in the hard classes. I am a part of the choir team and we have even gone to an ensemble contest and won third place. One of the best things I do during the school year is to be a manager on the girl’s basketball team. I have been one of the managers for the last two years. I help the girls during practices and I try to run the clock, but mainly, I made lots of good friends. When I lost my hearing aids, my school offered to help pay for the replacements.

Almost everywhere I go around town people recognize me and say “Hi.” I am so lucky to have a family, a transplant team, and a school to make my life special and fun after transplant.