TODAY news - April 29, 2004

You'd never know from looking at Garret Horn that anything was ever wrong with the vivacious 10 year old, his smile beaming out from under his brown eyes and accentuated by the countless freckles. You'd never guess he's a kidney transplant recipient from the way he plays wing on his hockey team, or that he underwent several emergency surgeries at birth by the way he knocks opposing players over trying to score.

"It's just fun!" exclaims the transplant patient of his favorite sport, three years after he received a life-saving kidney from his father, Jason Horn. The excitement of traveling to the state championship tournament etched on his face is a marked contrast to his experience in 1998. The fear and frustration of being on dialysis up to 10 hours a day, four times a week, before his kidney transplant scared the whole family.

"There were a lot of unanswered questions in the beginning," says Mr. Horn. Dialysis was a scary time for Garret especially, worried about the social upheaval of his school life, let alone playing hockey at a competitive level. The family learned that Garret suffered from two bad kidneys. Only one functioned normally, one performed at about 10 percent of normal, and neither kidney was growing with Garret. In 1998, Garret began dialysis treatment at Loma Linda.

Garret, who started playing hockey when he was 5, had to stop when the dialysis started. Before long, it became apparent that dialysis was only a temporary solution. As he kept growing, while his kidneys didn't, they became more and more insufficient to keep him alive. Garret needed a transplant.

As soon as Garret began dialysis, Mr. Horn started getting tested for a tissue match with his son. In April of 1999, at the age of 7, Garret got a kidney transplant from his father at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital. The surgery was performed by Okechukwu N. Ojogho, MD, assistant professor of surgery. Now Garret is only using the kidney his father donated.

The first three months after the transplant, Garret was apprehensive about playing hockey again. He knew he definitely didn't want to go back onto dialysis. He acted cautiously because he didn't want to hurt his new kidney. But his doctors and parents assured him he would be fine with the medications prescribed for anti-rejection.

So with his division of club hockey being non-contact, and with the best protective equipment for his age, Garret was back on the ice four months after the transplant. This season he's been a pretty aggressive player according to his father, playing forward and defensive shifts. He gets penalties just like the rest of the kids and spends his share of time in the penalty box. Garret enjoys the support of his grandparents and godparents, who have gone to all his games, some as early as 6:00 a.m.

"We've become a hockey family," says Mr. Horn. Garret's older brother, Michael, 12, plays in a league in Yorba Linda while Garret plays in Ontario, and his younger brother Austin, 4, watches his brothers play for now.

Through hockey, Garret has been able to skate at places like the Pond in Anaheim and at Staples Center in Los Angeles. He's just reminded to keep himself hydrated. Fluid intake is very important to keep his kidney functioning. Kidney failure doesn't happen overnight, and he is tested every two months to make sure everything is going smoothly.

Since his transplant, Garret hasn't missed any games because of his kidney. He's been able to go back to school and enjoy his friends again.

And Garret has been able to get back out on the ice, part of a championship-contending team for the state in the California Amateur Hockey Association, and playing hockey with his family year round.

Two boxes stuffed full of brown and white teddy bears sit in the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital transport teams equipment room on Unit 5700, right along with the portable heart monitors, IV pumps, and airway devices. Next to the boxes rest a pile of warm blankets. All are ready to be grabbed on the go by the team when they get the call to transport a patient.

Victor Bannis, RCP, RRT-NPS, respiratory therapy transport team coordinator, got the idea after he had been working with the transport team for about three years and had seen how kids react.

"We transport all over the place," says Mr. Bannis, referring to the four-county area of Inyo, Mono, Riverside, and San Bernardino that LLUCH serves, plus areas of Los Angeles and Imperial counties. "Here we go and take these kids from their parents and we are perfect strangers."

In order to help calm the kids down and build up their trust, Mr. Bannis started the teddy bear hand-out project seven years ago. He began with teddy bears from volunteer services and the child life department at the Children's Hospital. Sometimes there weren't enough bears since the departments supplied bears to hospital patients, so Mr. Bannis began seeking donations from community organizations. Last year the biggest donation of nearly 400 plush toys came from KOLA 99.9 FM.

Mr. Bannis and the transport team now have a steady supply of bears to take to patients on each run. In addition, they are able to offer blankets from Project Lynus.

"This is our way of comforting the patients," smiles Mr. Bannis. "It gives the kids an opportunity to trust us."

The fear factor for a child in transport can be tremendous. Being torn from your parents and rushed to a hospital by total strangers talking about blood pressure and other unfamiliar terms is enough to scare anybody.

The moment Mr. Bannis or one of his fellow transport team members offers a bear and a blanket, kids latch onto them, clutching the bear tight--simultaneously dropping their fear and raising their trust in the team. The bears and blankets have a decidedly positive impact on the kids. Whether transported by ground or by air, the team sees the bears scattered around the rooms on the pediatric intensive care unit, an avid display of the attachment the kids have with their bears. Mr. Bannis estimates nearly 40 percent of the patients in the PICU are transport patients.

"I'm just part of the transport team, and this is my way of giving back," says Mr. Bannis. "I try to put myself in the parents' situation, and I know I'd want my kids to be treated this way."

Assistant director for the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Foundation Cindy Williams (left) welcomes members of the Inland Empire 66ers who visited Children's Hospital. Pictured are (from left) Ms. Williams; Bernie, the 66ers mascot; Jill Sheehan, 66ers director of community relations; Byron Marquez, 66ers staff member; Kerry "Free Girl Friday," from KCAL radio station; Dave Oldham, general manager of the 66ers baseball team; Santos Chacon, Casmere Limousine Services; Drew Warsaw, from KCAL radio station; and Dale Inlow, representative from Domino's Pizza.

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Revised May 12, 2004
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