MANSFIELD — On Oct. 14, in the early morning around 7:30 a.m., Dominic Amesquita’s family received the call they had been waiting on for what felt like forever.
“As always, seeing that number made my heart and mind jump, that maybe this was the call,” Sheryl Moran, the 16-year-old’s mother said.
A day of anticipation
Trisha Solas, Amesquita’s transplant coordinator at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, finally called his family to inform them a deceased donor kidney, seemingly a perfect fit, was available for him.
“We had to travel to Cincinnati right away to confirm it was the match they believed it could be,” Moran said. “Waking the household to share this news was a dream-like, tear-filled privilege.”
“Honestly, packing was somewhat of a blur, but we got it done,” she said. “Dominic, his dad and I drove to Cincinnati, while his adult sisters, Faith and Kristin, stayed home to watch the house and animals.”
At around 11:30 a.m., they arrived in Cincinnati with conservative optimism, she noted.
(Story continues below photos. Photos of Amesquita and his parents at the hospital. Provided by Sheryl Moran)
After the staff checked in Amesquita and got him comfortable with the necessary preparations, the team anticipated the surgery.
“Then, we waited,” Moran said. “It wasn’t until 3 p.m., we would celebrate the official “go ahead” for transplant, then surgery began around 3:30 p.m.”
Moran noted the surgery was complete around 8:30 p.m.
The lead surgeon, Dr. Johnathan Merola shared details of how well the transplant surgery went, and the expectations of close monitoring to ensure continued success through Amesquita’s inpatient stay.
Moran said this talk helped them, as parents, to feel at-ease.
From dialysis to recovery: A donor’s gift changes a life
Just 10 days after surgery, Amesquita was able to return home.
(Story continues below video. Video shows Amesquita taking bumper stickers off their car after his surgery. Provided by Sheryl Moran.)
His nephrology team at Akron Children’s Hospital has been caring for him, Moran said, with weekly check-ups and labs to ensure all healing and function continues as his new journey to healing begins.
“Our family was so thankful to each member of the Cincinnati Children’s transplant team for preparing us ahead of time for what Dominic’s transplant experience would be like,” Moran said.
“It really put us at ease walking through this experience with Dominic.”
She also expressed their gratitude for Akron Children’s Nephrology team for providing successful dialysis and support, which brought Amesquita to transplant in the healthiest way possible.
Dominic’s donor gave what so many of us couldn’t.
Sheryl Moran, Dominic’s mother
“What we know of Dominic’s donor is statistically little for now,” Moran added. “They were a 20-30 year-old deceased donor with a healthy kidney.”
She said they may know more after an exchange of letters through “Network for Hope.”
“We know that Dominic’s donor’s humanity is big, and they chose life for Dominic,” she said. “They chose for Dominic to get off dialysis and go on living.
“Dominic’s donor gave what so many of us couldn’t.”
Community effort leaves life saving impact
For the past year and seven months, Amesquita had been on a kidney donor transplant list.
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In previous reporting with Richland Source, Amesquita noted his years of struggling with a birth defect, spine bifida. This causes his spinal cord and bones not to fully close, causing him to face nerve damage and kidney complications his entire life, including end-stage kidney failure.
While waiting for a transplant, Amesquita underwent dialysis three days a week, four hours at a time, for a total of 12 hours each week.
This caused him to experience low blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and muscle cramps, he added, the treatments filter toxins from his blood, but they took a toll.
Beginning last August, Amesquita’s family plastered the county with yard signs, flyers and even car decals.
(Story continues below photos. Provided by Sheryl Moran.)
Moran said it was incredibly helpful in spreading the word, along with help from the non-profit Off the List and a Facebook page dedicated to Amesquita.
“As a family, we have a special thank you to everyone from the “Dominic’s Kidney Quest” community and to those who worked together with Tina Stanley at Cincinnati Children’s to find out if they could be a kidney match for Dominic,” Moran said.
She added her thanks to everyone who helped with their quest by sharing posts, signs, car clings, media communication and prayers.
“The number of people who cared and stepped forward to help was humbling and restorative to the truth that humanity cares,” she said. “As a family, we found sometimes giving all you have still isn’t enough to meet the need, and we thank God the humanity of you all filled the gaps of where ours fell short.”
For anyone looking to learn more about becoming a living kidney donor, visit the National Kidney Registry. Tina Stanley, living donor coordinator at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital can also be reached at 513-636-4312 or tina.stanley@cchmc.org.