Less than a week later, 12-year-old Wyatt Houppert has undergone a kidney transplant after his only kidney failure began in February.
More than 50 members of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office salute Tuesday, and applauded Wyatt as he left Riverhead's office.
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. was appointed Honorary Sheriff Wyatt for the day. During the “sheriff,” Wyatt sat on the police ATV and turned on the siren in his police car. He smiled cutely at the K-9 dog.
Attended was Dawn Rice, kidney donor of Wyatt, wife and sister of two Suffolk County Correctional Officers. Wyatt's mother, Devan Hooppert, said the sheriff's office is over the moon displaying support.
“We want to make sure we're there to support [Wyatt]especially because they have connections with families at the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office,” Toulon said.
Toulon, who has been a county sheriff for eight years, said it was his second time since he became sheriff that his office had done something like this.
Wyatt's implant surgery will take place Monday at Hassenfeld Children's Hospital in Nyu Langone, Manhattan.
In 2021, his mother took Wyatt to the hospital because she thought she was a bad stomach virus. Houppert, 40, of Houpoge, learns that his son was born with one kidney because his second kidney did not develop properly.
In February, she learned that his only kidney was failing. Wyatt has begun hemodialysis. This is a treatment for renal failure that helps remove waste and excess fluid from the blood and regulates the blood pressure of a person.
Wyatt Hooppert, 12, is sitting in the chair of Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. after being sworn in as honorary sheriff at the Suffolk County Jail in Riverhead on Tuesday. Credit: Newsday / Alejandra Villa Loarca
Since then, Wyatt has been undergoing life-saving hemodialysis treatments for four hours at a time, three to four times a week. Wyatt has a catheter in the chest, and his mother said it needs to be reinserted surgically removed for his dialysis.
“Even just finding a dialysis centre, we fell after the entire island location, as if it were, as if it wasn't life or death. [just] Houppert is looking for a haircut. So we were stuck in the hospital because he couldn't go without hemodialysis.
His mother said Wyatt also had autism and had developmental disorders.
She takes her son to a dialysis centre in Beth Page, where she is on a 30-40 minute commute, over a few hours of dialysis treatment.
“I'm happy that I don't need to go dialysis again,” she said.
Rice has a family of two, a father and a sibling who suffered from kidney failure. Rice said the sheriff's office event was good as she could see Wyatt enjoy herself without worrying about dialysis.
Rice described Wyatt as a good kid and funny person. She encouraged people to share their “spares.”
Houppert praised Rice as a selfless person and an angel.
Wyatt's grandfather, Randy Hooppert, also expressed his gratitude.
“This gives him a chance to fight and she gives him that chance,” he said. “She's my hero.”
