My Mommy and Daddy hoped that all of the medical bills for the transplant would be covered by insurance, but we still needed to stay in Los Angeles for a while before and after the transplant. My grandpa set up Bryan's Kidney Fund.

There were so many people that donated to my fund. My Grandpa had just retired from the FAA, but the secretary at the Flight Service Station put up a notice on the FAA bulletin board and people from all over the United States responded!

This lady from a radio station, Cindy Kay, even camped up on the roof of the mall to raise money for the Angel Fund. I was one of the kids that would be helped by that fund.

There were even kids who helped me! I had a friend in my preschool class who's Mommy worked at Paris Gibson Middle School with some special kids. They are called Stars. They helped me raise money for my fund. I got to meet them and we were on TV and in the paper and everything! Isn't that cool?! Those kids raised over $1000 for my fund!

Finally we had a date set for the transplant. I would get my new kidney on June 17th, 1997. I almost didn't get to go then though, because the doctor thought I might have peritonitis. I didn't though. We got to use Delta SkyWish to get to Los Angeles. There are other people who help sick people who need to travel for medical treatment. You can find a list HERE. We left Great Falls on June 7th. My Mommy had to have some more tests to make sure that they didn't miss anything. My Daddy kept a Transplant Journal of our trip. We even have some PICTURES from the trip.

Finally I have my "slightly used" kidney! My Mommy and I are doing fine. We even got to visit with my Great-Grandma and Grandpa Burton in Escondido. My Mommy is so silly, she was trying to ride my bike! We were only at UCLA for about 3 weeks after the transplant! We got home July 4, 1997, Independence Day.