Toddler Needs Transplant — Nurse Steps Up In Order To Donate Kidney

Nov 06, 2020 by apost team

There are kind, selfless people in this world. It can certainly feel like that is not the case when you turn on the news and see all the conflict and strife throughout the world. While the news may cover some of the worst elements of humanity, it is good to hear about the amazing things people are doing for each other. There are even people who perform altruistic acts toward strangers! We must recognize these true heroes and celebrate their selflessness.

One such hero is Minnesota nurse Taylor Pikkarainen who selflessly donated her kidney to an 18-month-old boy named Bodie Hall on July 9, 2020.

Recently, the story of a young nurse and an 18-month-old boy went viral. You see, the nurse had done something to save the life of the little boy, and she had never met him before in her life.

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Sometimes the word "hero" gets thrown around too liberally. For example, we all love sports, but is someone a hero if they make a great play to win a game? They might be "clutch" or "money," but does that qualify for hero status? It seems like that term should be applied a little less often.

In the case of Taylor Pikkarainen, a 27-year-old nurse, the word hero is quite appropriate. During 2020, this young medical health professional has been on the frontlines, doing her part to care for those who have been unfortunate enough to contract the COVID-19 virus, according to ABC 7 News.

As has been well-documented, doctors and nurses are at a higher risk of contracting the illness because they are exposed to people with it so often. Despite this fact, Taylor has reported working every day ready to care for the sick. That alone would qualify her for the status of hero. Taylor has another reason that many consider her to be a hero. She saved the life of a toddler whom she had never met.

Bodie Hall is an 18-month-old boy who was born with a rare congenital disease called nephrotic syndrome, which made his kidneys fail. He had an older sister who was born with the same condition. Luckily for his sister, their mom, Gloria, was a match and was able to donate one of her kidneys to her daughter.

Unfortunately for Bodie, his father was not a match for him, however. This left the family desperate to find a kidney donor for their little boy. Without a transplant, he would not survive. They reached out to the public, hoping to find someone who would be willing to help their little boy, as ABC 7 reports.

Little did the Hall family know that their hero was listening to their call. Like Batman promptly responding to the Bat-Signal, Taylor — who was a friend of a friend — tracked down the Halls and let them know that she was willing to donate her kidney.

The young nurse's heart went out to the toddler. In an interview for ABC News, Taylor talked about hearing the story and realizing that Bodie was "so small." She couldn't stand by without doing anything if she could help the little boy.

She reached out to the family and the process of determining whether Taylor was a match began. In February of 2020, she was approved to be a transplant donor for Bodie. Everyone was overjoyed. Unfortunately, like many things in 2020, it wasn't going to be that easy.

2020 has certainly not been kind to the plans of millions of people around the world. The way things have done for a long time have changed in so many ways because of the coronavirus. When Taylor was approved to be a transplant donor in February, there was no thought that there was anything that could jeopardize that. In March, however, COVID-19 had taken a foothold in the United State of America.

For the Hall family, the setback was devastating. After all, their little boy was desperately in need of a new kidney. Every day that went by without him receiving a transplant was another day that time ticked away with his family worrying about his health.

The status of Bodie's transplant was in limbo.

While the family anxiously waited for news on Bodie's transplant, the young nurse continued to serve patients suffering from COVID-19. The Hall family started to panic, wondering if Bodies was going to be able to have his surgery in time. At about that time, good news arrived. Bodie's surgery had been rescheduled.

Two days before the scheduled surgery, Taylor met Bodie for the first time. As fate would have it, Taylor donated her kidney to the toddler on her 27th birthday, according to ABC 7. With the surgery done, all that remained was to see how Bodie would recover.

Luckily, the surgery was a complete success and Bodie soon began to show signs of recovery. The energy one gets from having a healthy kidney was now flowing into the toddler. Taylor was also recovering from the procedure quite nicely. Despite initially being strangers, Taylor and Bodie now share a unique bond.

This story reminds us that, even during a year as harrowing as 2020, there is still a lot of good in this world. It's heartwarming and reassuring to see a person like Taylor do such a selfless thing for someone she had never met.

Did the story of Taylor and Bodie fill you with hope? What did you think of the young nurse's selfless act? Show this story to those you know who might need to see the good in the world, and let us know how this tale made you feel.