A year ago Taran Kovacs’ biggest dream in life was to be an average teenage kid on the block - normal as in taking a girl on a date, or playing sports, particularly snowboarding.
But that was impossible for Taran. The 15-year-old boy’s life was one of constant pain, worry, lying in bed, and being tied to a tube to receive life saving peritoneal dialysis (PD) treatment 13 hours a day.
Six years ago the Innisfail teen was diagnosed with a severe chronic kidney disease called rapid progressive glomerulonephritis due to IgA nephropathy. More simply put, his immune system was attacking his body, specifically his kidneys, which ultimately stopped working altogether.
But on Aug. 10 last year, following one failed transplant and more than a year of being completely bedridden, his mother Tina gave Taran her kidney.
For many months after there were daily tests and visits to Calgary’s Alberta Children’s Hospital to ensure his body did not reject his new kidney.
Today he needs to be tested and seen by a specialist only once a month. His biggest dream has finally come true. Taran knows what normal is like. He is now just another average kid on his block.
“There are times I do think about the past and I don’t ever want to go back to all that,’ said Taran, who is a Gr. 9 student at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School. “I feel normal now. I can do what I want to do and not worry about getting hurt. I can be just a kid.”
Taran’s path to recovery after his life saving surgery was not only one of ultimate love and support from his parents Tina and Tom but also cemented with a foundation of not ever giving up or taking an easier softer way.
“A lot of people who get transplants are sheltered because there is fear of having more problems,’ said Tom. “We have not allowed that since day one. We have pushed him to be active, to stay involved in a normal way.
“We believe in the saying, ‘Just because you get kicked down you don’t have to lay down,” added the father.
But mom and dad, after years and years of hard work, commitment and sacrifice, are still trying to find the right words to express their gratitude that their son, the youngest of three siblings, has finally reached the stage of his young life where living can just be normal.
“I know he has more freedom now. When he gets older and goes out is when it may all hit home. He won’t have to rely on me all the time,” said Tina, who works as a doctor’s assistant in town.
What is also important for the family to never forget is the incredible support, including financial, they received from the community. The cost and time it took to bring Taran along the road to recovery could have permanently crippled any family but Innisfail citizens and businesses refused to let it happen to the Kovacs.
“We wouldn’t have survived the financial stress if it wasn’t for the people of Innisfail,’ said Tom, a mechanic and shop manager.
In the meantime, Taran’s normal life has not only resumed but also fully blossomed with unlimited potential. He has his school and friends, and his dream of being an average every day teen who loves sports is being realized. In February and March he competed in two snowboarding races, one at Lake Louise.
And next March he will be in Europe for an even bigger competition. He has been accepted to compete for Canada in snowboarding at the World Transplant Games in the alpine ski resort of Anzére, Switzerland.
And there is even more dreams to work for after that.
“After I graduate high school I’m going to university to become a kidney doctor,’ said Taran.
Today the key word for Taran and his family is gratitude, to give back after so many people have so freely and lovingly given to them.
Taran, Tina and Tom have committed themselves to help and participate in this year’s 100-kilometre Kidney March, which is being held in Kananaskis Country on Sept. 9, 10 and 11. The event is a fundraiser for the Kidney Foundation. Tina’s goal is to raise $2,200.
For more information on how to help the cause and the Kovacs efforts citizens are invited to visit the web site at www.kidneymarch.ca
