Image Credit: CFJC Today / Jill Sperling

By Jill Sperling

FERRIS BACKMEYER

Kamloops toddler with rare condition in need of a kidney

Feb 20, 2020 | 4:43 PM

KAMLOOPS — At only three years old, Ferris Backmeyer is about to go on the donor list for a new kidney.

The Kamloops girl has a rare condition and has been on dialysis for about two years.

“We got flown to Children’s (Hospital) when she was 18 days old, and stayed there about six weeks and by the time we were discharged on that admission we had a working diagnosis of Saldino Mainzer syndrome, which was later confirmed by genetic testing,” said Ferris’s mother, Lindsey Backmeyer.

Mainzer-Saldino syndrome affects Ferris’s liver, bones, eyesight and kidney function.

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“When she was first diagnosed, I think she came home and did really well and we were all fairly optimistic that maybe they were wrong, but when she went into kidney failure she kind of went from what they call a stage two kidney disease to end stage renal disease in a matter of a few months,” Lindsey said.

Ferris no longer has any kidney function.

She takes a large number of medications daily and has been on dialysis since she was 14 months old.

“On top of that she has multiple medical appointments often,” Lindsey said. “We go to Children’s every four weeks, so we’ve been there for the last two years, once a month, plus hospital admissions thrown in there as well. So, our day-to-day is unlike anything I could have ever imagined.”

Ferris is resilient, but a new kidney could improve her quality of life.

Image Credit: CFJC Today / Jill Sperling

She is now big enough to receive a kidney transplant and her nephrologist plans to put her on the deceased donor list in March.

“It is preferred to have a live donor kidney,” Lindsey said. “Those kidneys just typically transplant better, they do better and they typically last longer. So, for Ferris, she’s going to need more than one kidney transplant in her lifetime.”

The toddler’s mother doesn’t meet the criteria to donate her kidney, while her father Pat is hoping to qualify for a paired exchange — which is when a living donor is incompatible with the recipient, so they exchange kidneys with another donor/recipient pair .

“Also, for her we need a small kidney,” Lindsey said, “so a small human, a small person is what they’re kind of looking for.”

Both Lindsey and Pat look forward to the positive changes they expect to see in Ferris when she finally has a functioning kidney.

“We’re expecting to see big growth, neurologically, physically, I think she’s going to feel better.”