Aiden was born June 29, 2007--a healthy & beautiful baby boy. He was our little toot from day one. Always happy and smiling and always fighting sleep! We were so happy to be parents, life was wonderful! When he was 4 months old, Aiden received his routine 4-month vaccines at his local pediatrician's office. What happened next, was not routine. Aiden became very ill over the course of the next couple of days--eventually ending up in the local ER and being life-flighted to a Dallas Children's Hospital. He was diagnosed with diarrhea-associated HUS--a fairly common disorder that is usually caused by a strain of Ecoli. This made no sense to us--he was not a beef-eater at 4 months old! He tested negative for everything that "usually" causes HUS and it was written off as a "fluke".  His kidneys shut down and after 4 weeks in ICU, dialysis, a ventilator and lots of medication therapy Aiden recovered fully and we returned home. Over the next year, Aiden's kidneys seemed to return to normal functioning levels and all was well. It was at a followup appointment with his kidney doctor in Dallas that his lab work began to show signs that something was brewing. In November of 2008 we returned to Dallas for a new peritoneal dialysis catheter, a central line placement and a kidney biopsy. The biopsy confirmed his doctor's suspicions. Aiden had Atypical HUS- a form of HUS that is believed to be genetic. A form for which there is no cure.

Some facts:

• ·         AHUS causes the body to produce abnormal plasma. Components of this plasma attack the kidneys and blood cells causing kidney damage-and in severe cases kidney failure as well as severe anemia and low platelet counts.

  ·         Currently, Aiden requires 10-12 hours of peritoneal dialysis each night and 2 had both kidneys removed in September of 2009.

  ·         Aiden loves motorcycles, guitars and music of all kinds.

  ·         Aiden always has a smile on his face and is a constant reminder to us to just keep smiling!