Wisconsin boy receives gift of life through kidney donation

MILWAUKEE — Ask Grayson Neubauer any questions about bowling and you’ll know the answer. He had just turned 5 years old and the theme of his birthday party was bowling.

When Neubauer isn’t talking about bowling, he’s flipping through sports sticker books to pass the time during dialysis at Children’s Wisconsin.

His mother, Katie Rush, said Neubauer was born with a rare genetic disorder called Dennis Drash syndrome.

Doctors removed both kidneys at seven months old because the syndrome puts her at high risk for Wilms tumor, a kidney cancer.

“He has gone through more hardship in the first five years of his life than most people will go through in a lifetime,” Rush said.

(Photo courtesy of Katie Rush)

Neubauer has been on dialysis his whole life, but that will soon change. She is scheduled to undergo a kidney transplant on April 2nd.

“He was just listed on the national registry as a potential donor about two weeks ago and within five days we found a match,” Rush said.

(Photo by Andrea Wiseman)

Rush said two people he had never met heard about Neubauer and contacted him about making a donation.

Since they were not opponents with Neubauer, they donated through the pair exchange program. That means their kidneys will be donated to another candidate, and Neubauer will receive his opponent.

“This is scary and exciting because we’ve lived with dialysis all our lives and it’s all we know,” Rush said. “It would be nice to have more freedom.”

Through this trip, Rush and Neubauer became friends with Andrea Wiseman, the Lady of the Lake Country. She is involved with her Donate Life Wisconsin, Versiti, and National Kidney Foundation.

“I call him my little superhero,” Wiseman said. “He likes to be called A-list Grayson. He’s A-list Grayson. Just meeting him and knowing how strong he is at such a small age, you can’t help but feel happy.” You’ll want to help.”

Ms. Wiseman is competing for the title of Mrs. Wisconsin in the first week of April, ironically the contest is the same week as Ms. Neubauer’s transplant.

She wants her superhero to take home the crown.

Rush said her son will be able to live a normal life thanks to organ donation.

“He’s had a number of major surgeries,” Rush said. “He’s been in situations many times where he didn’t know if he was going to survive or not. He’s truly a miracle worker. I want him to live the best life he can.”

Your life will be filled with fewer hospital visits and more outings to sporting events. All because strangers wanted to give the gift of life.

(Photo courtesy of Katie Rush)

Click here for more information about organ donation. hereClick here to follow Neubauer’s journey. here.