Amelia Continues Kidney Disease Fight

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — Nothing keeps Amelia Hale down for long. Not rotavirus. Not being able to eat like other kids. Not even the roller coaster ride of finding a match for a kidney transplant only to have hopes dashed because of stubborn antibodies.

Amelia is enjoying preschool way too much to let any of that stuff get in her way. Nothing gets the Rochester Hills little girl more charged up than hanging out with best friend Isla and her other pals.

“She absolutely loves it,” says mom Jessica Hale. “On the first day of pre-school, she was the first person in the classroom. She never wants to leave. She loves the other kids.”

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Amelia was born with one kidney, and it’s currently functioning at just 15 percent. Because of the excellent medical care she has received, Amelia has been able to avoid dialysis, but regular trips to the doctor and too many needle pokes to test her blood to count are part of her routine.

Still, she, brother Jake, Jessica and dad Matthew endure, waiting for the right donor kidney to come along. One way the family keeps hope going is by participating in National Kidney Foundation events. Earlier this year, they took part in the 22nd annual Kidney Walk at the Detroit Zoo.

On Nov. 4, they will hold a bowling event to raise funds for the National Kidney Foundation. It will be held at Imperial Lanes in Clinton Township starting at noon.

Jessica and the mothers of two of Amelia’s other best buddies also fighting kidney disease, Eli and Nani, have organized the event. The cost is $20 for adults and $15 for kids under 10. Two games of bowling and shoes, pizza and soda. There will also be a drawing for raffle baskets.

“We don’t have a set target on how much money we want to raise,” Jessica Hale said. “But we are hoping for 300 or more bowlers. We plan on doing this every year.”

Simply put, the funds raised help save lives. Even with proper funding, find the right donor match is difficult.

In Amelia’s case, she has come close twice. In May of 2016, Jessica donated a kidney as part of the the Alliance for Paired Donation program. Her kidney went to a recipient in New Jersey, while Amelia received one from a Minnesota donor.

But because of Amelia’s particular antibodies, the transplant to failed. In fact, because of the antibodies, there’s only a 7 percent chance a match for Amelia can ever be found.

A few months ago, Jessica and the kids were on vacation in South Carolina when the call came for another possible donor. But the donor kidney did not withstand standing testing and another transplant was not attempted.

“They’ve been extra-picky with Amelia because she rejected the first transplant,” Jessica said of Amelia’s medical team.

So, for now, the family must keep the faith. Jessica said Amelia’s starting of pre-school helped her come to an important realization.

“I came to terms with the fact that we can’t live in a bubble,” she said.

Imperial Lanes is located at 44650 Garfield Road in Clinton Township. To register for the bowling event, call Valerie Kropf at (586)484-4497.

Photos by Jessica Hal used with permission.