When Karen Rodas and Paul Rybkin’s son Nathaniel was born he lived for just 36 hours.
He was born with a rare condition called Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) which causes cysts to grow in the kidneys which can lead to kidney failure.
The New Jersey couple had another child in 2013 Maddy who had the same condition as the couple’s first child but after a two-year struggle with the disease this little girl was given a lifeline – thanks to her dad.
Maddy Rbykin’s condition had caused her stomach to swell and for the first 18 months of her life she was in and out of hospital.
Despite the hospital visits, tubes and oxygen treatments Maddy was doing okay, until her health started to deteriorate.
Maddy was completely drained of energy, sleeping up to 18 hours a day and constantly vomiting, according to The Mirror.
Doctors feared she might die unless a suitable kidney donor was found.
Successful operation
Her dad Paul was then identified as a match and was able to give his daughter the life-saving operation she needed.
“With Paul and Maddy, two of my most precious souls, going under the knife, my nerves were a wreck,” Karen said, according to The Mirror.
The operation was a success and both daddy and daughter are doing well.
“Daddy’s kidney has saved our little girl,” Karen added. “Now, she has boundless energy. Her massive tummy now just looks a little bit rounded and she is a happy and healthy two-year-old.”
A modest Paul said he would have done what any other parent would.
‘Happy and healthy little girl’
“We have been on a rollercoaster – but any father would have done what I did, donating my kidney to Maddy. It’s part of being a parent,” he said, according to The Mirror.
“Now we are on a high and can watch Maddy grow up as a happy and healthy little girl.”
Maddy will need another kidney transplant in 25 years, but for her parents, that feels like a “lifetime away.”
You can follow Maddy’s journey here, where her mom continues to update how it goes for her daughter – it’s great to see her progress and how’s she doing today, in 2023.
So happy that something could be done. Bless her and her dad too!
Doctors feared she might die – until her deli owner dad Paul Rybkin, 38, was identified as a donor, and she had the life-saving operation on January 19 this year.
Maddy’s parents, from New Jersey, were unaware they were born carriers of the recessive gene for PKD, which causes cysts to develop and can lead to kidney and liver failure, until they fell pregnant with son Nathanial.
Tragically, he died just 36 hours after birth – on August 5 2013 – and doctors warned the couple there was a one in four chance future kids could also develop the condition.
Stay-at-home mum Karen Rodas, also 38, said: “The chances of any of our babies surviving, if they were born with it, was very low.
“Nathanial didn’t stand a chance. Just 36 hours after his first cry brought him to life, he was gone.”
The high school sweethearts, who are also parents to Jackson Zarsky, nine, from Karen’s previous relationship, and Penelope, one, still wanted to add to their brood.
Karen said: “When I fell pregnant again, we were both over the moon.
“Then, at our 20 week scan, they found Maddy’s kidneys were enlarged – a sure-sign of PKD, just like Nathaniel. My heart sank.
“I was determined we didn’t lose our baby to the deadly disease again.”
The family would not consider abortion, and found a PKD expert doctor in Philadelphia.
On November 7, 2013, they travelled to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for a routine 33-week scan, but Karen was induced into early labour after doctors discovered Maddy was at risk of becoming tangled in the umbilical chord.
After 12 hours Maddy finally arrived, her stomach alarmingly bloated, and she was kept in hospital for seven years – finally heading home on Christmas Eve.
Despite regular hospital visits, tubes and oxygen treatment – Maddy seemed to be doing well for the first year-and-a-half, until her kidneys suddenly failed and the need to operate became urgent.
Karen said: “With Paul and Maddy, two of my most precious souls, going under the knife, my nerves were a wreck.
“I kept thinking: ‘What if something happens to them both? How will I cope?’”
Thankfully, both operations were a success, and Maddy recovered.
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Karen added: “Daddy’s kidney has saved our little girl.
“Now, she has boundless energy. Her massive tummy now just looks a little bit rounded and she is a happy and healthy two-year-old.
“She laughs so much, big belly laughs. And she feels good, which was something she wasn’t used to.
“She will need another transplant in 25 years, but that feels like a lifetime away.”
Paul said: “We have been on a rollercoaster – but any father would have done what I did, donating my kidney to Maddy. It’s part of being a parent.
“Now we are on a high and can watch Maddy grow up as a happy and healthy little girl.”
