Son fine--Kidney donation takes toll on mom
by Raymond Masleck

A Castlegar boy is doing well after recieving a kidney transplant from his mother, but she almost died during the procedure.

Thirteen year old Ken Sloot and his mother Lisa underwent the operation on Monday in a Calgary hospital.

On Wednesday, Ken was able to take a wheelchair ride over to visit his mom.

"She had a bad ime," said his grandmother Shirley Peters on Wednesday. "We almost lost her. There was some kind of problem with the anesthetic and she stopped breathing."

Lisa is in stable condition but the operation and the months leading up to it have been an ordeal, Peters said.

"She is totally exhausted. It has been such a traumatic thing to deal with. She seems to be resting a bit better today."

Ken has a hereditary disease causing chronic renal failure. Last week his kidney function was down to only 13 percent of normal and he was wasting away.

"He is doing really well, considering," said Peters. "They are pleased with his progress. But it has only been two days, so we can't really judge too much. If the kidney adapts to his body, he is away. But if it doesn't, he is in trouble."

Ken will spend three months in Calgary having daily tests done at the hospital. His mother is also expected to undergo a lengthy convalescence.

Community members and groups such as the Trail Lions Club have been raising funds to help out the family, who returned to Canada from Las Vegas earlier this year when Ken's father got a job offer in the West Kootanay.

"We have never been in a community where people care about each other like this," Peters said. "Every minute there is someone calling or at the door. You read about places like this but you don't expect to live in one. It has been a real eye-opener."