Isaac Fletcher, 13, has been looking for a kidney since 2019. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
He was diagnosed with kidney disease after an episode of E. coli infection. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Over the past three years, Isaac has been hospitalized several times and regularly visits the dialysis clinic three days a week. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
In the end, he almost completely lost his kidney function and was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2019. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac has become a familiar face at Corewell Health’s Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and befriends many thanks to his positive attitude and creative imagination. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Michelle and Kevin Fletcher, Isaac’s parents, are looking for a kidney for their son. They couldn’t find a match. After many tests, Michelle is about to give Isaac a special gift – one of her kidneys. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac and his mother would drive an hour from Ionia to Grand Rapids to get to their dialysis appointments 3 days a week for 3 years, but they soon reached their final day. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Ornaments hang from the ceiling where Isaac was dialysis and record the many hours spent waiting in his chair. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
“He was a great kid and he was so smart and silly. He makes us laugh all the time,” said Liz Orme, a dialysis technician at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac and Michelle were greeted with a large sign that read “Good luck to Isaac and Michelle” with a kidney painted on it. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Liz made Funfetti cupcakes covered with chocolate sprinkles, a special request from Isaac, to celebrate his last day on dialysis. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac took a big bite of his chocolate-covered cupcake. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac’s final fun before surgery included him and his dad attending a Winter Jam concert at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Michelle wore her superhero socks the day before the transplant. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
“It would certainly be strange without Isaac on dialysis. We have known him, his mother and his sisters very well for many years,” Liz said. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
“We’ve been preparing for the idea of a transplant for quite some time,” says Michelle. “It’s all just surreal.” (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac and Michelle were placed side by side in the holding compartment before surgery so they could see each other before entering the operating room. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Kevin comforts Michelle before surgery and says goodbye until he sees her recover. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Michelle said: “Isaac was both excited and nervous on the big day. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Kevin plays with Cody, Isaac’s jaguar, to calm his nerves before surgery. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Michelle was taken back to the operating room while the OR staff talked to Isaac. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Daniel Borreson, MD, works to remove Michelle’s kidney. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
When Dr. Borreson was ready to have the kidney removed, he waited for Dr. Joel Stracke to arrive and get ready so he could immediately give the kidney to the recipient. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Dr. Stracke checks and gets ready to bring the kidney to Isaac. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Dr. Borreson is about to have Dr. Stracke’s kidney removed to then be taken to his Clinic for transplant preparation. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Dr. Stracke prepares for a kidney transplant for Isaac. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac’s stuffed animal, Cody the jaguar, waits on Isaac’s hospital bed outside the OR. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac was only hospitalized for four days after the transplant. On average, pediatric patients usually stay a week in the hospital, but Isaac recovers very well. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
After a month of going home from surgery, Isaac is back to a normal life and a better quality of life. All his restrictions have been lifted and he’s back playing with his cats on their ranch in Ionia. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
He is playing Lego and video games, dancing to music and playing cards and board games like Uno and Settlers with his four sisters Emma, Anna, Elliana and Lillian. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac loves to draw different creatures from his rich imagination. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
The first thing Isaac asked for after surgery was to hug his cat Batman. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac is returning to the active life of an older brother and roaming around with his four younger sisters. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Isaac had to drink a lot of water after the transplant Michelle said: “They really wanted to push the fluid to irrigate the kidneys. “And we were told that was the best thing for it.” (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
“We were very pleased with everything,” Michelle said. “Everyone was very helpful, and everything went very well. It’s just surreal. (Taylor Ballek | Corewell Health Beat)
Since 2019, 13-year-old Isaac Fletcher and his family have been on a quest to find a kidney.
In 2019, he was diagnosed with kidney disease after an E. coli infection.
He eventually lost his kidney function almost completely and was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2019.
For three years, he and his mother Michelle will drive an hour from Ionia to Grand Rapids to get to their dialysis appointments three days a week.
And Isaac became a familiar face at Corewell Health’s Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
He befriends patients and staff on the road to transplantation. Isaac and his family spent hundreds of days in the dialysis clinic playing bingo, watching cartoons, or making arts and crafts.
“What do you want to do on your last day of dialysis?” asked child life expert Mimi Rassi.
“Video games, of course,” Isaac said.
After years of countless medical appointments, dialysis is coming to an end as Michelle is about to give her a special gift—one of her kidneys.
“He was a great kid and he was so smart and silly. He makes us laugh all the time,” said Liz Orme, a dialysis technician at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
Liz made Funfetti cupcakes covered with chocolate sprinkles, a special request from Isaac, to celebrate his last day on dialysis. Other team members stopped by with gifts and well wishes.
“It would certainly be strange without Isaac on dialysis. We have known him, his mother and his sisters very well for many years,” Liz said.
But they are delighted that Isaac’s kidney transplant means he will no longer need dialysis.
The Child and Family Life group hung a hand-drawn banner that read, “Good luck Michelle and Isaac!” with a thumb giving a thumbs up.
Long road to transplant
“We’ve been preparing for the idea of a transplant for quite some time,” says Michelle. “It’s all just surreal.”
She said the whole process took almost two years to complete, and after all that time, it seemed crazy when the day finally arrived.
“Isaac was both excited and nervous on the big day,” she said.
His last fun before surgery included him and his father attending a Winter Jam concert at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
Just a few days later, he and his mother underwent transplant surgery.
“We stayed in the hospital significantly less than we anticipated,” Michelle said.
Doctors told her that the average child would live about a week after a kidney transplant, and because Isaac’s condition was so complicated it would most likely take longer for him to recover.
“Isaac was released after just four days,” she said. “He did a great job.”
She said the first day he urinated nearly 13 liters.
“They really wanted to push the fluid to irrigate the kidneys,” says Michelle. “And we were told that was the best thing for it.”
And the good news is: Some of the problems Isaac and his family foresaw after the surgery, he never had to face.
Life at home
After only about a week of being able to go home from surgery, Isaac is back to a normal life and a better quality of life.
He is playing Lego and video games, dancing to music and playing cards and board games like Uno and Settlers with his four sisters Emma, Anna, Elliana and Lillian.
She said: “He got used to drinking a lot after years of restricting his water intake while on dialysis.
Isaac is restricted to drinking 1 liter of water per day while on dialysis and must now aim to drink at least 2.5 liters per day.
And since his immune system is pretty suppressed by anti-rejection protocols, he hasn’t gotten to a lot of places yet.
But Isaac and his mother still visit the transplant clinic twice a week to this day.
“We were very pleased with everything,” Michelle said. “Everyone was very helpful, and everything went very well.”
“It was strange,” she said.
