Nearly 16 years after Daryl Wallis had a rare and life-changing four-organ transplant, his five-year-old son had to undergo the same procedure just two weeks ago. Now, he’s calling on more Ontarians to consider registering to become organ donors.
At the age of one, Wallis was diagnosed with hollow myopathy, a rare type of pseudo-intestinal obstruction that would stop his digestive system from moving food properly or absorbing nutrients. For the first twenty years of his life, Wallis ate and drank intravenously until he found a donor liver, intestine, stomach, and pancreas transplant.
The four-organ transplant recipient, who became a pharmacist, said doctors told him his rare disease would not be passed genetically to his children. But at the age of one, his son Owen began showing similar signs: flatulence, frequent vomiting, and his inability to grow or gain weight in proportion to his age.
“It wasn’t until basically genetic testing was done to confirm what we had hoped wasn’t true and that he had the disease,” Wallis told CBC Toronto.
Wallis said his son suffered a bout of severe sepsis at the age of two when his intestinal tract became infected and spread throughout his body, and his small intestine had to be removed. That’s when the baby was put on the transplant list.
“It’s like a kick in the stomach,” said Jamie Wallis, Owen’s mother.
“I knew through Daryl and his mother… everything they went through throughout his childhood and adult years and how difficult his life was. Then I imagined my son going through the same life… It was terrifying.”
After waiting nearly two years, the boy underwent a 12-hour surgery to receive the four organs on July 30 at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, doing better than expected, his father said. He said the parents did not know who the donor was.
“All we know is that someone would have been his size because they are only five years old and too small for their age,” he said.
Doctor says transplant was the only life-saving option
In November, it will be 16 years since Wallis received the life-saving transplant at Toronto General Hospital in 2007. Without the transplant, Dr. Anand Ganikar, a transplant surgeon at Toronto General Hospital, said that Wallis would not have been able to live, with no There are other alternative options.
“For many people, the only option is to transplant organs from a deceased donor,” said Gnikar, who specializes in transplanting live and deceased abdominal organs in adults and children.
Before moving on to the transplant waiting list, the father entered the final stage of liver failure after having to rely on intravenous fluids for 20 years.
“The doctors basically told my family, ‘We will try to keep him alive long enough for the transplant technology to progress sufficiently,'” Wallis said.
Wallis said that many of the same doctors and nurses who operated on him in 2007 were involved in his son’s transplant 16 years later.
“When I got back here and saw my old doctors and nurses, it was a level of relief…just knowing that the care he was getting was what I received, so you’re optimistic about the outcome,” Wallis said.
Ganekar said Toronto General and Sick Kids have only seen several cases of the rare genetic condition over the past few decades. While Wallis had a difficult initial recovery, Ganekar said his progress speaks to how life-changing the process can be.
“[Darryl] He had made an amazing recovery and truly demonstrated the power of an organ transplant. [It] It completely saved his life and allowed him to have a really excellent quality of life.”
“Without an organ transplant, none of that would have been possible.”
In the case of children, he said, it is essential that more Ontarians are aware of the impact of organ transplants.
“There is great importance to making as many transplant opportunities as possible for children because they are disproportionately affected and disadvantaged in some respects in terms of waiting time,” Gannekar said.
More than 1,500 Ontarians are on the waiting list
There are more than 1,500 people waiting for organ transplants in Ontario, according to the Trillium Gift of Life Network, the government agency responsible for the province’s organ donation system.
The family hopes that by sharing their story, they can encourage more people to give the generous gift of organ donation.
“Just one donor can give up to eight different people with different organs,” Wallis said. “So it’s really a great gift to be able to donate.”
“Once you’ve lived your life, once you’ve done everything you know, being able to go on and give that second chance to so many people is just amazing.”
There is much hope now for his future,– Jimmy Wallis, Owen’s mother
As for Owen, his mum says he is in good health after the surgery and has already been able to walk again.
“There is great hope now for his future,” Jimmy Wallis said. “Seeing him after the transplant… you feel like he’s got this, as if he’s going to have all these milestones that we hoped he would achieve in his life. Before the transplant, we didn’t know that was going to be the case.”
“The guy has a little fireball. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon. He’s going to make the most of this life and have a lot of fighting and a lot of driving.”
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