If you met Ethan, the first thing you would probably notice is his smile.
He is funny, energetic, curious and a little mischievous. He is happiest doing what most seven-year-olds love: riding his scooter, being outside, laughing with friends, and spending time with family.
What you might not know is that Ethan was born with congenital nephrotic syndrome, a rare kidney disease that has been part of his life from the beginning.
Hospital visits, bloodwork, medications, and procedures are normal for Ethan, but they have never defined him. Ethan is so much more than kidney disease.
He loves being part of his U8 rugby team. He loves to laugh, play, ask questions, and keep everyone around him on their toes. He has faced more medically than most adults ever will yet continues to approach life with remarkable joy.
Over the past year, Ethan’s kidney disease has progressed. There have been more hospital stays and procedures, and dialysis has recently become part of his journey.
As his parents, we always knew this chapter might come. Knowing that didn’t make it any easier when it did.
Through it all, the community around Ethan has made an enormous difference. Friends, family, teammates, colleagues, and complete strangers have shared his story, checked in on us and reminded us that we are not facing this alone.
We are sharing Ethan’s story in the hope of helping him reach the next chapter of his life: one with more freedom, energy, and chances to simply be a kid.
To learn more about living kidney donation, contact the Nova Scotia Living Kidney Donor Coordinator confidentially at 902-473-5501.
If donation is not something you can consider, sharing Ethan’s story is still an incredible way to help.
More than anything, we want people to know the little boy behind the medical story.
That’s Ethan, and he has a whole lot of life ahead of him.
Story by Jenny Hackney
