A long-awaited kidney transplant has given a 27-year-old Fargo native a chance at a new life.
Erik Welton underwent the surgery at a Seattle hospital. His kidneys failed in October 1999 and he had been undergoing dialysis three times a week.
"He never once complained," says his mother, Judy Welton. She and husband, Bob, adopted Erik when he was a month old.
"I remember times when he was in high school at North High when he was so sick, I would lie on his bed with him and help him study because he couldn't even sit up," says he mother. "Many days he would say 'Mom, I can't go to school all day today, but I might be able to make it through first hour.'"
Welton says her son, who is three-eighths Chippewa Indian, was diagnosed with asthma as a baby.
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A routine 7th grade athletic physical showed otherwise. He had been born with Lupus, a rheumatoid disease in which the body attacks its own organs. His kidneys would eventually fail.
Erik was a student at Montana State University in Bozeman, married just two months, when disaster struck in 1999.
He nearly died when his kidneys gave out. Doctors feared he would die of a heart attack because of soaring potassium levels.
Erik was sick often after that. He couldn't work a regular job so he took one delivering pizzas. He did that right up until he got the call from Seattle in May.
It wasn't the first call. On Christmas Eve 2003, he was told a good blood match had been found and he was on an alternate list. The final call never came. This time he was told, "Erik, this is your kidney, get out here right now."
He and wife Kate flew from Missoula, Mont., where they now live, and he was in surgery that night. Within hours, the new kidney turned pink and firm and produced a few drops of urine.
It was great news for parents who had sacrificed much, financially and emotionally, over the years. When Judy retired from South High in 2001, the student council, faculty and student body, raised more than $8,000 for Erik's medical expenses.
The staff at the Seattle hospital hung the nickname "Superman" on him following surgery because he was doing so well.
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"Mom, this is just the way I planned it," said Erik, now taking 35 anti-rejection pills a day. That will drop to two pills a day within a year.
The $1,800 monthly cost of those two pills will have to be borne by the young couple - a daunting task. As always, mom and dad stand ready to help.
"Bob and I look at this as a chance for him to finally have a life like everyone else," says Judy. "We're so thankful and have been really lucky to have such a support system in Fargo."
Erik had another surprise for his parents as they sat by his hospital bed a couple weeks back. "Will you come to my graduation in two years?" he asked.
This young man who was forced to set college aside back in 1999 and deliver pizzas to keep body and soul together, has been going to school at the University of Montana, carrying a 3.37 GPA with a double major. Kate will soon be a registered nurse.
That's just like Erik, says his mother. Her son is back among the living with a bright future beckoning.
Readers can reach Terry DeVine at (701) 241-5515 or tdevine@forumcomm.com
