MILWAUKEE — If you ask Greyson Neubauer anything about bowling, he’ll know the answer. He just turned 5 and his birthday party theme was bowling.
When Neubauer isn’t talking about bowling, he’s flipping through sports sticker books to help pass the time during dialysis at Children’s Wisconsin.
His mother Katie Rusch said Neubauer was born with a rare genetic disorder called Denys-Drash syndrome.
That syndrome puts him at a high risk for Wilms tumor, which is kidney cancer, so doctors removed both of his kidneys at 7 months old.
“He’s been through more in the first five years of his life than most people can in a lifetime,” said Rusch.
Neubauer has been on dialysis his whole life, but that will soon change. On April 2, he’s scheduled to receive a kidney.
“He was just listed in the national registry about two weeks ago as active for a donor and they found a match within five days,” said Rusch.
Rusch said two complete strangers reached out after hearing Neubauer’s story and wanted to donate.
Since they weren’t a match with Neubauer, they donated through the paired exchange program, which means their kidneys will go to another candidate and Neubauer will receive his match.
“It’s terrifying and exciting because we’ve lived with dialysis his whole life, so that’s all we know,” said Rusch. “It’s going to be nice to have more freedom.”
Throughout this journey, Rusch and Neubauer became friends with Andrea Weisman, who is Mrs. Lake Country. She’s involved with Donate Life Wisconsin, Versiti and the National Kidney Foundation.
“I call him my little superhero,” said Weisman. “He wants to be called super-duper Greyson. He’s super-duper Greyson. Just to see him and see how strong he is at such a small age, you can’t help to feel happy and you want to help.”
Weisman is vying for the title of Mrs. Wisconsin the first week of April and, ironically, the pageant is the same week as Neubauer’s transplant.
She’s hoping to bring home the crown for her superhero.
Rusch said because of organ donation, her son will be able to live a normal life.
“He’s had so many major surgeries,” said Rusch. “He’s been in so many situations where we didn’t know if he’d survive or not. He’s such a miracle. I just want him to live the fullest life he can.”
It’ll be a life filled with fewer hospital visits and more outings to sporting events, all because strangers wanted to give the gift of life.
For more information on organ donation, you can click here, and to follow along with Neubauer’s journey, you can click here.