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A little more than two years ago, 18-year-old Drake Fields had one of his kidneys surgically removed. Less than a year later, he was told his remaining kidney was failing. The news spurred a race to find a donor for the transplant that could save his life.
After serious health setbacks delayed his progress, Fields has now passed all of the physical and psychological evaluations necessary to be “activated,” and is now waiting to be placed on the waiting list for transplant surgery.
“I am down to the last steps,” he said. “As soon as I get fully activated, it’s just playing the rest of the waiting game, whether it’s to find a living donor or to receive a kidney from a deceased donor.”
Fields was born with VACTERL association, an acronym for a rare group of seven types of birth defects that tend to occur together. To be diagnosed with the syndrome, a child must have three of the seven symptoms. Fields has all seven.
“All the different parts of my body are affected,” he said. “My right hand, for example, is different than my left. My stomach and esophagus were not connected correctly at all. There was a pinhole for an airway. I have a feeding tube. And I‘ve had a lot of surgeries correcting things.”
Fields’ kidney problems began to manifest in 2019, requiring frequent hospitalizations to correct his fluid and electrolyte levels. He was placed on the pediatric transplant list in 2021 but could not progress to active status because of his ongoing medical issues.
“I was listed on the children’s side of Stanford Medical Center,” he said, “and then that never got through because I kept getting hospitalized. It just kept on and on. There were a few times when I had scheduled my evaluation and then again got hospitalized, so I missed it.”
Following the removal of his kidney, Fields has undergone dialysis three times a week and must carefully maintain his diet and hydration to minimize his frequent hospitalizations. At the end of last year he underwent a transplant evaluation at UC Davis and the doctors ultimately declined to list him.
“They said I was too medically complex for them, even though it’s UC Davis,” he said. “After we did the evaluation, they came back with too many suggestions for me to fix, which some of them were unrealistic.”
One was for him to resolve his chronic esophageal stricture, or narrowing of the esophagus, for which he currently undergoes monthly dilations.
“That’s not going away,” he said. “What they wanted was just impossible, and it felt like to me that they just didn’t want to deal with me. It was frustrating and confusing for sure.”
At the end of April, Fields was accepted into the Stanford transplant program, in part because of its familiarity with his case.
“It was a long process,” he said, “and it was somewhat concerning with the questions they were asking me. But they were a little more understanding and definitely knew what was happening. They knew everything that was being taken care of and knew the plan.”
Upon being listed, new hurdles arose as evaluations had to be made to verify that Fields could withstand the anesthesia and the surgery itself. It also meant getting clearance letters from his gastrointestinal, nutrition and pain management teams while maintaining his physical health.
Having passed his medical and psychological tests, Fields is optimistic that with these last steps, his surgery will finally take place.
“You’re actually getting really close when they’re throwing more stuff at you,” he said. “But physically I’m doing well. I am still able to work a little bit, trying to pass the time.”
Fields’ patient advocate, Linda Leibowitz, stresses the urgency of his transplant needs and is trying to help him get “catapulted” to the highest level in the system.
“I don’t know how he does it,” she said. “I know a lot of people in his situation who are not as young, and he’s by far the most in need of everybody that I’ve worked with. But he still carries on.”
For Fields, being physically and mentally ready for the surgery is not the same as being financially prepared. He has been holding fundraising events and has a “Help Drake Survive Post Kidney Transplant” GoFundMe account, which has raised $3,300 toward his $10,000 goal.
“Everything I get is going toward my recovery,” he said. “My parents are going to be forced out of work or have very minimal hours because I’m not going to be able to move very much. I’m not going to be able to do very much. I want to be sure my parents are comfortable.”
To assist him, the Jr. Davila Blessings on Blessings Foundation will host a fundraiser on Sept. 9 at Hollister’s Grillin & Chillin Alehouse. All proceeds will go to Fields and his family.
“We pick our recipients by severity of case,” Blessings on Blessings co-founder Vanessa Salinas said, “and we thought Drake would be an amazing one to help.”
Salinas said she had been familiar with Fields through his social media posts before he approached the foundation for assistance, and that she was aware of his needs.
“I know there’s a huge financial burden,” Salinas said. “We’re hoping to relieve some of that stress so that he can just focus on healing and getting better and being a healthy young kid and enjoying his life every day.”
For Fields, being so close to receiving the surgery he desperately needs has only solidified his determination to keep pushing forward.
“I’m still waiting, but I’m going to be like a predator, hammering them for that scheduling phone call,” he said. “I just want to get it done.”
Tickets for the Sept. 9 “Blessings on Blessings” dinner for Drake Fields are available online. Information about the Blessings on Blessings Foundation is available online or by calling Beatrice Soto at (831) 902-8522 or Vanessa Salinas at (831) 205-9414.
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