The hospital has become his playground. Kedar Palan has spent most of his nine year old life in and out of clinics, visiting doctors, getting tests done and undergoing surgeries. His most recent one, a kidney transplant three weeks ago in Parel, has given him a new lease of life.
Kedar got the kidney from his mother, Rita, even though their blood groups differed. But the 42-year-old wouldn't let that come in the way of giving a fresh lease of life to her naughty boy after a decade-long ordeal.
Barely 16 days after he was born, Rita noticed that Kedar would not feed well. "He would vomit incessantly. Once he vomited thrice in fifteen minutes," said Rita. "He would not put on weight. The pediatrician said there was a fault in his bladder and created a direct opening for passage of urine. After four months, a bladder surgery was conducted on my son. But his condition never really improved."
Kedar's family was in a helpless state as the doctors had warned them that Kedar's kidneys would keep deteriorating over the years. "Kedar's kidney function went from 90 to 35 per cent. Last year, they stopped functioning altogether. We had to keep our son on dialysis for an entire year," said Rita.
Nephrologist Dr Bharat Shah of Parel's Global Hospital said Kedar was suffering from a 'posterior urethral valve,' which compelled his urine to be pushed back into the kidney. "His urinary passage was blocked. In that scenario, when the bladder contracted, his urine was pushed back into the kidney creating toxicity," said Dr Shah.
On July 11, Kedar underwent a kidney transplant despite a mismatch between his and the donor's blood. To ensure that Kedar's body didn't reject his mother's kidney, the doctors replaced the plasma in the blood. "Close to a litre of Kedar's plasma was drained out of his body, and plasma matching his mother's blood group, A positive, was transfused. This is done so that Kedar's body accepts his mother's kidney," said Dr Shah. "The surgery was smooth. The mother and child are doing fine now."
The family, which has spent close to Rs 20 lakh in medical expenses in the last nine years, has now put the tumultuous times behind. Kedar himself is eager to resume classes at the St Pius Convent school in Mulund. "My favourite subject is Maths. I desperately want to return to school so that I can study. I was off junk food for a year but my mother churns out tasty home made dishes," said Kedar, with a glint in his eyes.
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