UI heart transplant patient makes it home for the holidays

CEDAR RAPIDS - After receiving a lifesaving heart transplant earlier this year, an 11-year-old patient at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics was able to make it home in time for the holidays.

Kameron Brown, of Orion, Ill., underwent transplant surgery on Sept. 14, and was well enough to spend Thanksgiving, as well as Christmas and New Year's Eve, at home with loved ones.

'We're really happy about that,” said Nancy Jordan, Kameron's grandmother. 'He's very excited (to be home). He's getting his personality back and just spending time with his cousin and doing things. That's really nice to see.”

Diagnosed with a heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, which reduces the heart's ability to pump blood, Kameron had been on the organ transplant waiting list since April 2015 and been a patient at UIHC since May. His mother Nikole Kommer and aunt, Tarryn Erickson, also suffer from dilated cardiomyopathy and had heart transplant surgery at UIHC in the past.

While a patient in Iowa City, Kameron witnessed the wedding of his mother to his stepfather Brandon Kommer on Sept. 12. With Kameron's insistence, the couple's wedding took place in the hospital chapel before a small gathering of loved ones.

The family received word the following Wednesday - Sept. 14 - that a donor had been found for Kameron.

'We are thinking of and praying for a special family tonight,” Jordan wrote in a post on the 'A Heart for Kameron” Facebook page on Sept. 14. 'May God grant them peace and comfort in their time of great loss. We thank them for their selfless and kind gift of a second chance at life for our amazing Kameron!”

Kameron was discharged from UIHC on Nov. 20 with family members smiling in pictures as he was wheeled out of the hospital. Upon his return home, dozens of family members gathered to celebrate Kameron's Thanksgiving homecoming, Jordan said.

'We were so thankful for him being home,” she said. 'It was a big day for everybody.”

'So happy to be home with my baby!” Nikole Kommer wrote on the 'A Heart for Kameron” Facebook page on Nov. 20.

Even in their celebration, Jordan said her thoughts were with the family of Kameron's donor.

'You're always thinking of that other family, since they're missing someone at that Thanksgiving table,” Jordan said. 'It's bittersweet.”

Jordan said her family 'would definitely love” to have a connection with the donor family, if they are willing.

Kameron has had to return to UIHC twice for brief visits over the past several weeks for issues with dehydration and a stomach infection.

'It was just a little bump in the road, just something he had to be more closely monitored for,” Jordan said.

However, Jordan said Kameron's doctor, Dr. Erik Edens, is very confident in Kameron's recovery and says there's no sign of organ rejection.

Now, the family is focusing on keeping Kameron well. He has physical therapy three days a week, and Jordan said they plan to start tutoring lessons at home.

Jordan also said she and her daughters - Kommer and Erickson - have talked about connecting with the Illinois Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network to raise awareness about organ donation.

Jordan said she hopes they could speak to students in driver's education to teach them about becoming an organ donor on their licenses.

'I think it's really important to talk to younger people when they're just starting to drive or getting their license,” Jordan said. 'They don't put a lot of thought into it or until it personally affects you or your family. I know it's something that I didn't really think about a lot when I was younger and before it affected me.”

To see more updates on Kameron, visit the 'A Heart for Kameron” page on Facebook.

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