Surviving with one kidney and help from Primary Children’s

Little Kenzi Hart is 2-years-old. She runs and jumps and plays just like any other 2-year-old. You would never know she is struggling with kidney issues. Her parents, John and Denae, thought she was born healthy, but after a week, Kenzi just stopped eating. The strange thing was, she was still gaining weight.

“One or twice a year, they get a child that just baffles them and they don’t know what’s going on. And that was Kenzi,” said Denae.

At just 9 days old, her little stomach was expanding. Local doctors sent her to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.

“Once we got down to Primary’s the whole world opened up on us. We found out she was born with only one kidney. At the time, the kidney wasn’t emptying through her bladder. It was just basically filling up into her stomach. So at that time, she had actually gone toxic and had gotten really, really sick,” said John.

The ureter that connects the kidney to the bladder wasn’t even connected. When the body doesn’t rid itself of toxic levels of urine, potassium builds up.

“And that really was the scariest was when they came in and told us how high her potassium was and really what the complications were of having it be that high. And so that was really probably the scariest point for me,” said John.

Doctors inserted three tubes in her abdomen just to drain all the urine.

“The nephrologists were telling us that her kidney was actually failing and that she would need a new one. And along with that new kidney, she’ll get a new ureter. So when she gets a kidney transplant they will be able to reconnect that ureter back to her bladder,” said John.

Right now, Kenzi has a tube through a port in her side that connects the kidney to the ureter so the urine can empty directly into her diaper. It still requires a trip to Primary’s every four weeks to get the tube changed out to prevent infection. Kenzi has to stay there three to four days every time to ward off that biggest concern.

“It’s just a foreign object coming out of her body. It just invites infection. Infection goes straight to her kidney and every time she gets an infection, that kidney just takes a huge hit,” said John.

To complicate matters, her solo kidney is only functioning at 18-to-20 percent.

“So you’re really just waiting for one to show up?” asked KIDK news anchor Todd Kunz.

“Actually, what we’re waiting for is the one to die, to quit,” said John.

“They won’t put her on the list until she’s between five and 10 percent functioning,” said Denae.

“So you don’t have any idea. It could be tomorrow. It could be?” said Kunz.

“It could be five to 10 years down the road if it just maintains,” said John.

The Harts have a strong support group and the entire family understands and helps. They’ve developed a strong bond with the doctors and nurses at Primary’s.

“Amazing. They always do whatever they can to help her out and they go out of their way to make Kenzi comfortable down there and whatever she needs. And they know here routine. They know what she likes and what she doesn’t like,” said Denae.

For now, Kenzi and the rest of the Hart family carry on, living life as normal as possible with those monthly trips to Salt Lake City. Doctors are helping to get Kenzi eating a little more so she can get a little bigger, so one day, when that kidney comes, it will be a good fit.