Wyatt Helmer takes liver condition, transplant in stride
Staff reporter
Aaron Helmer named his son after Wyatt Earp, an 1880s lawman he admired.
Young Wyatt Helmer now has the admiration of both of his parents. The determined toddler has been through a lot in his young life.
Born with a rare birth defect, the 2 1/2-year-old received a life-saving liver transplant March 6.
The prognosis is good.
Wyatt was born without a main bile duct from his liver that drains poison into his intestines.
The condition, biliary atresia, is a rare condition in newborns. About one in 15,000-20,000 babies in the U.S. are affected each year by the condition.
For parents, Aaron and Traci (Radtke) Helmer of Marion, their second child appeared to be a healthy baby.
Traci had a normal pregnancy and Wyatt went full term before his birth on Oct. 4, 2004.
"When he was two months old, we knew he was sick," Traci said, but the young parents didn't realize how sick their little boy really was until lab work on Dec. 4, exactly two months after Wyatt's birth, determined the problem.
Wyatt had jaundice, which isn't unusual for infants, but his skin was turning yellow and the whites of his eyes also were yellow.
The lab work indicated Wyatt's belliruben count was 11-12. A normal count is one.
The family whisked the baby to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City that night.
Another test at the Kansas City hospital confirmed that the baby had biliary atresia.
"Sometimes an infection can cause the condition but Wyatt was born without the bile duct," Aaron said.
A six-hour surgery was performed to hook the intestine to the liver. Wyatt was in the hospital for 12 days.
The surgery didn't work.
"We were told then that a new liver transplant was likely," Aaron said.
On Aug. 16, 2005, Wyatt was put on a liver transplant list.
His family took him to monthly appointments for check-ups. In the meantime, a failing liver meant more problems for the outgoing baby.
"The liver couldn't absorb nutrients which resulted in his bones becoming brittle," Aaron said.
As a result, Wyatt broke both of his arms.
"He broke one of his arms by bumping a hulla-hoop," Traci said. This condition of having brittle bones continued for more than a year. Osteoporosis medications were prescribed.
And the family waited for a liver donor.
In the meantime, Wyatt became more ill — his skin continued to darken, his eyes were yellow, and his stomach protruded. Through it all, the child maintained a happy attitude.
Doctors determined that a liver could come from a child who weighed as much as 100 pounds. One dry run dampened the couple's hopes but didn't dampen their spirit.
Finally, a compatible liver was found and after an 11-hour surgery, was successfully transplanted.
"It's smaller than it should be but it will catch up," Traci said, because the liver will repair itself.
The couple and the doctors didn't fully realize the magnitude of Wyatt's illness until the transplant when the sick child's liver was removed.
"It was enormous," Traci said, referring to a photograph that was provided to the family.
Since the liver was trying to re-grow, calluses formed which hardened and enlarged the liver.
"We all were surprised he survived this long," Aaron said.
After the surgery, problems developed.
"Wyatt's stomach didn't want to wake up," Aaron said. Tests were ran and determined four inches of intestine had collapsed because of the transplant and had to be removed. Back to the operating room and another four-hour wait for the anxious parents.
A day or two later, Wyatt was able to eat and eliminate normally.
Through it all, Aaron and Traci's older child, daughter Jenna, 6, had to be cared for and provided the necessary attention.
Following the surgeries, Wyatt was required to be within a 45-minute driving distance of Children's Mercy Hospital. So the family stayed for another three weeks in the Kansas City area.
"I'll never forget the day we were able to come home," Traci said with a big smile. "I missed my home, my town, everything."
And of course the couple was relieved to have their toddler come home healthier than when they left.
When Wyatt entered the hospital he weighed 23 pounds. With the setback of not being able to eat, he's just now starting to gain back what he had lost and weighs 24.5 pounds.
The work for the couple is not over by any means. Close monitoring of Wyatt's food intake and weight gain are important. If he begins to gain weight too quickly without eating more, there may be concerns of fluid building up again. They also keep a detailed food diary. Otherwise, the toddler has no food or activity restrictions.
"The only thing that slows him down sometimes is a port-a-cath that was inserted in Wyatt's side under his arm for regular blood draws," Traci said.
For now, blood work is done twice a week at St. Luke Hospital of Marion. Eventually, the lab work will become less frequent as Wyatt continues to improve.
Since the transplant, Wyatt has blossomed.
"He's always been really active but we never thought he would be this active," Traci said with a laugh.
Wyatt's talking more and using complete sentences.
"We left with a baby and came back with a toddler," Traci said.
Still a little behind other children his age in height (about eight inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter) and development, doctors told the couple that he should catch up with his peers within a year.
Still somewhat fragile, the family has to protect the child from illness and tries to keep him from those who are known to be ill.
Wyatt was lucky.
"He was totally healthy except for a bad liver," Aaron said. "Wyatt never lost his energy level or appeared really sick."
"He didn't have other health issues like other children with his condition," Traci said.
Wyatt has always had an upbeat, positive personality since birth.
"His personality helped him get through it," Aaron said.
Biweekly blood draws and monthly doctor's visits in Kansas City are necessary for the first few months. Then labs will be once a week to once every other week, and doctor's visits will be once every six months.
Wyatt takes rejection medications and will continue to take them the rest of his life. The next concern is damage to his kidneys caused by those medications but the couple will cross those hurdles if and when they arise.
Certain medical safeguards will be required for Wyatt for the rest of his life that include lab work every four to six weeks.
Wyatt probably will not be able to play some contact sports, such as football, because of the transplant.
Aaron is the service manager at Ag Power of Hillsboro, and Traci is a teller at Tampa State Bank of Marion.
Good health insurance, understanding employers, a supportive community, and the power of prayer helped the family cope with and survive the stressful ordeal.
"If it wasn't for the people back home praying for us, we all wouldn't be here today," Traci said.
