All his life, while living with kidney disease, Horse Lake Elementary School student Walker Williams has done his best to be positive.
A quiet and private student, Walker, 12, was born with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and only one kidney, but never shared this with his classmates, believing they would treat him differently. That changed this March when Walker got sick with a cold and then the flu, the dehydration his sickness caused spiralling into kidney failure. This meant Walker had to go down to Vancouver for dialysis on May 2 at the BC Children's Hospital and drop out of school while awaiting a kidney transplant.
Rather than make fun of him, however, Walker's Grade 7 class at Horse Lake Elementary School has rallied around him and has decided to organize a Walk for Walker fundraiser on Thursday, May 22, to raise awareness about his condition and money to help pay for travel expenses during his treatment. Arianna Bracey and Cali Bishop are two students who have taken the lead in organizing the event, with the assistance of their teacher, Lisa Pugh.
"Right now (Walker) is on dialysis and can't come to school, so we're just trying to find him a donor," Bracey said. "Our teacher was telling us how he's not going to be coming to school because he needs a kidney and everyone knows him. Me, Cali and another girl in our class decided to make these posters. Our teacher contacted his mom and asked if it was ok if we make posters and do this (fundraiser). She said yes and you should see them hanging up around town."
Bracey said the Walk for Walker is being modelled after the Jump Rope For Heart fundraiser the school has done in the past. In addition to walking around the school grounds themselves, they'll have several activity stations set up for kids, including a tag station, skipping ropes, hoola hoops, speed walking races and a tug of war. Participants will also be dressed in black and yellow to play into the be positive tagline, Walker's family's motto.
While the event won't be open to the public, Bracey said they hope community members will be willing to donate to the cause. They can drop off cash donations at the Horse Lake Elementary School office or via e-transfer by emailing horselakeparents@gamil.com and writing Walker in the message line. Bishop said they've already raised $400 in online donations as of Monday, May 5.
"He's a really nice person and I think he would be very grateful for it. Especially his family, his mom and his brother," Bishop said. "I think it's an amazing cause to donate to."
Walker's mother, Megan Williams, said both she and her son have been blown away by the support they've received from his classmates and her colleagues at Horse Lake Elementary. She noted she is more used to donating to other people, so to be on the receiving end is a bit hard to take in.
"We are very, very thankful and so very grateful for what these kids and staff are doing for Walker," Williams said. "It is hard to describe and put into words just how much we appreciate what is being done for Walker. Walker never thought he would have so much support, and never thought that kids his age would be so kind and caring about his kidney disease."
Bracey noted they also hope to find someone willing to donate a kidney to Walker by raising awareness about his situation.
"His blood type is B-positive, and their little motto at home is 'be positive' so we have worked that into our little marketing. If you want to donate a kidney, you can go to B.C. Transplant online, which is www.transplant.bc.ca or www.kidney.ca/BC/LODERP," Bracey added. "Even after the transplant, he's going to have to be careful about what he eats and stuff. It's going to affect him for the rest of his life and it's really hard to live with the machine, so I think he'll be really grateful to be able to go out and do normal things."
Pugh said her students wanted to help out when they heard the news, some of them attending school with Walker since kindergarten. She also wanted to take away some of the financial burden as they travel to and from the Lower Mainland for pre-surgery. She noted that donating an organ like a kidney is an incredible sacrifice.
"Donors are superheroes, that's who they are. Someone who decides to do that is (showing) true altruism. You're giving life," Pugh remarked. "A true whole life for Walker. We're just hopeful there will be a good outcome in terms of him finding a donor."
Williams said Walker is currently being set up to receive peritoneal dialysis, which involves using the lining of the abdomen to clean his blood via the insertion of a catheter. This will allow him to stay at home while the family waits for him to be matched with a kidney donor.
"He can’t wait to get back home and get back to school and be a part of his class again. He misses his friends and helping with all of the leadership activities they do," Williams said. "Mrs. Pugh is absolutely amazing at what she does with her kids in that class. She is more than just a teacher to us, she is a hero in our eyes. Pulling all of this together with her class and hearing she has challenged other schools for donations is something else."
