When a family is dealing with a health crisis, being able to maintain some sense of normalcy is very important, but when children need dialysis it can mean several trips a week to the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids. One Grand Traverse County family knows firsthand the problems that travel can create, so they found a way to bring the dialysis treatments home.

You would never know by looking at twelve-year-old Brad Eddington that he's battled serious health problems since the age of one and a half.  The active Traverse City area 6th grader undergoes ten hours of dialysis every night, while he waits for a donor.

"He will continue on dialysis until we can find him a transplant," says Sharon Eddington, Brad's mother, "and there's really no time frame, it could be tomorrow, it could be two to three years yet before we find a suitable donor." 

Brad's health problems were first diagnosed when he was a toddler.  His mother donated a kidney during the turbulent time when Brad was two.  "It was a pretty incredible experience," Sharon says, "a lot of moms give birth one time, but I was able to give my son life twice, which was a real honor."  But Brad's health problems took a turn for the worse after he was diagnosed with cancer.  After chemotherapy his transplant failed, and he was also soon battling another form of cancer. 

"It turns out he had a new lymphoma," explains Dr. Timothy Bunchman, "and it's the second cancer in his lifetime, this young man is less than ten years of age at the time."  Dr. Bunchman says after his transplant and treatments finding a suitable donor is more challenging.  Dr. Bunchman says allowing Brad to stay at home for his dialysis makes a big difference to him and his family.  "It allows him independence," Bunchman says, "it allows him minimizing his trips back and forth to a hospital center, it allows less restrictions to his diet.  I think a lot of kids don't even know he's on dialysis because he plays sports, he's in track, he's growing like a weed, he looks great." 

The Eddington's say they make sure to keep the line of communication open.  "We try to make things matter of fact," Sharon says, "you know, 'I'm sorry you have to go on dialysis' or 'it's time to take medicines.'  When you have a child who is dealing with chronic health issues on a daily basis it is very important to be truthful, because then you do develop a sense of trust between the child and the parent." 

As Brad's wait for a kidney donor continues this family says leaning on their faith and taking things one day at a time is key.  "When you've had as many issues as Brad has you really cherish the moments that are quote-unquote normal family time," Sharon says, "you know, getting up every morning and going to school and being able to participate in sports, and homework and all those things, just being normal instead of being in the hospital with tubes and tests and doctors all of the time."