WILLIAMSBURG— After a year of looking for living donors, Langdon Richardson met his matches and recently underwent a kidney and liver transplant.
The 8-year-old suffers from Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD), a rare, inherited childhood condition that causes abnormal kidney and liver development. In order for him to live a normal life, a kidney and liver transplant were a necessity.
After searching for living donors, two of Richardson’s teachers came forward and gifted him with a kidney and liver. Langdon underwent liver transplant surgery on May 20 at the University of Virginia Medical Center.
The liver transplant surgery took eight hours, much of which Langdon’s mom, Tiffany, spent pacing and walking through various hospital hallways. Once doctors let her know that Langdon’s first surgery was a success, she spent another three hours waiting to be back by his bedside.
“Surgery day was a lot of anxiousness. I walked the hospital, up and down the parking garage, around the UVA Medical Center campus, I walked a lot. Our first thought when we first saw him after that surgery and said, ‘oh my gosh, he looks amazing’. It was emotional, I was just overcome with relief that the surgery had gone well,” Tiffany said.
After getting through the first night without any major problems, Langdon then underwent his kidney transplant surgery on May 21. After another three-hour surgery, he was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit where he received round-the-clock monitoring of his new organs.
“I really don’t remember any of it. I wasn’t scared, I was excited. I have been dealing with this since birth and it just literally made me not feel good every single day. I was excited to feel like a normal human,” Langdon said.
Having to spend two weeks in the hospital for monitoring, The Richardsons passed the time by playing card games, watching movies on an iPad and coloring. Langdon also received LEGO sets, and one of his favorite things, a kidney and liver pillow.
On June 4, Langdon was released from the hospital. His first stop? McDonald’s.
“Once I got out, I got to have a cheeseburger for the first time in years and it was so good,” Langdon recalls.
The family had to then spend an additional six weeks in Charlottesville for monitoring, physical therapy, pain management, blood draws, and lab work. There was also a fear that his body might reject the new organs and that Langdon would be right back where he started.
On July 2, Langdon was welcomed home to Williamsburg. Welcome home signs greeted the Richardsons on arrival and Langdon was touched by the community support.
“It was really special to come home. I just couldn’t wait to be there. I missed my house and my bed,” Langdon said.
While Langdon is still attending weekly doctor visits and having lab work done, he is so happy that he has a new lease on life. He recently returned from a family beach vacation, has been hanging out with friends, and just living life as a typical 8-year-old.
Tiffany has noticed a major transformation in just eight weeks.
“Physically alone, he is doing world’s better. He was sleeping a lot leading up to the surgery, I didn’t even know if we would make it to surgery because he was so unwell. He had no energy, dealt with leg and muscle weakness, and joint pain. For me, the physical stuff is just amazing. We’ve been having to tell him to slow down because he is still healing, but he has so much energy now,” Tiffany said.
For Langdon, there are many things he is excited about doing now that he feels better.
“I feel more like a normal human would. I’ve been playing on my Playstation 5, I’ve been walking a lot more, I swam in the pool, I went to the arcade, I went to a baseball game. My favorite part of all of this was getting to come back home,” Langdon says.
Langdon hopes that other people will consider organ donation in the future.
“It’s all worth it in the end because you can end up helping a kid just like me,” Langdon says.
To keep up with Langdon’s daily progress, visit his Facebook page.
