Matthew Ouimet was barely 5 months old when his kidneys began to fail and his family discovered he had a rare disease and would need a double-organ transplant to survive.
Luckily, the Antioch family eventually found a donor and five years later the now-healthy second-grader and his mother, Kristi, have been spreading the word through public talks, a video and interviews.
On Monday, the mom-and-son duo was joined by donor Brandon Burnett’s family, who sat beside them as they re-told the story of Matthew’s second chance at life, this time to high school students at Dozier-Libbey Medical High in Antioch. The all-day health science class event was organized by Donor Network West, a nonprofit that helps with organ and tissue donations in Northern California and Nevada.
“It’s extra special to be able to present together in person,” Kristi Ouimet said. “We are from Antioch and a lot of the students and faculty followed Matthew’s journey, so it is a very special day.”
Ayanna Anderson, Donor Network West senior community development liaison, said it was the first time her organization has been able to bring the two families together for a school program.
“It presents the duality of what the gift of life looks like (from both sides),” she said.
Burnett, 22, was a U.S. Army veteran who had registered as a donor and was attending college in Washington. A 2013 car crash in Woodland while visiting family ended his life, but gave a second chance to the then-seriously ill Antioch boy.
Burnett’s mother, Maggie Kolb of Woodland, and sister Ashley Hazlett of Kelsey came to Antioch to promote life-saving organ donations, which they say have had a positive impact on both families.
“It brings so much joy to see that my son had something to do with his (Matthew’s) healthy recovery,” Kolb said. “It gives his death a meaning.”
For Hazlett, a respiratory care practitioner, the experience has given her a new outlook on her work.
“What it has allowed me to do is be very empathetic with my patients,” she told the students.
And despite some fears about what happens to donors, Hazlett said they are treated with the utmost care and respect.
“There is nothing I would change about our decision to donate Brandon’s organs,” she said. “(When you decide to donate organs), you get some of the best one-on-one care that is out there.”
Before the transplant five years ago, the Ouimets had to drive six days a week from Antioch to San Francisco for their son’s dialysis. Born with the genetic condition Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1, in which the absence of a liver enzyme leads to damage of small organs, Matthew was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure in 2011.
The toddler needed a liver and kidney transplant, but three times the planned surgery fell through until 2013 when Burnett’s accident happened and a perfect donor match was made.
“His (Brandon’s) gift of life saved five people and enhanced the lives of dozens more,” Ouimet said. “We are very blessed to be close with Brandon’s family.”
Kolb said she is glad to see a part of her son live on in Matthew, and enjoys the bond of their close-knit families. Both have connections to law enforcement, with Kolb’s son a California Highway Patrol officer and both of Matthew’s parents former police officers and other family members still working as officers.
Two years ago the families joined again to produce a video of their experiences, “Dear Donor, Forever Connected,” with Donor Network West. The nonprofit’s Dear Donor video series features individuals and families affected by organ, eye and tissue donation, and is used to educate potential donors and families, including students at Dozier-Libbey.
“We want people to know we need more people to register as donors; the need is great,” Ouimet said. “We want to make it personal, to let people know they are not alone.”
Five years after his transplant, Matthew still must take medicine to prevent organ rejection, and to increase his iron and magnesium levels, all of which his stay-at-home mom administers on a strict daily schedule every two hours. Though Matthew looks and acts like any other 7-year-old, he is in a home/hospital school program and has a teacher visit him each day.
The Ouimets also must keep an eye on Matthew’s 15-year-old sister, who has the same disease but so far has not needed a kidney or liver transplant. Another son is not affected.
Ouimet said she’s especially happy to share her family’s story — even the emotionally charged photos and videos — with high school students, where she thinks it will have a great impact.
“This is a generation that is going to make a difference,” she said.
Matthew, meanwhile, is happy to talk about Brandon, whom he says is a “very special person.”
“Matthew calls Brandon his brother and Maggie his donor mom,” Ouimet said with a smile.
While talking about him one day, Ouimet said her 7-year-old clenched his fist and rubbed it affectionately against his tummy where his new organs were located, giving Brandon “a nuggie.” “Because that’s what brothers do,” he said.
“It’s a really great connection we have with the (donor) family,” Ouimet said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better family to be connected with. We have been able to heal together.”
