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Like most 18-year-old boys, Hollister resident Drake Fields loves playing video games, camping, hiking, riding his e-bike and hanging out with friends in his free time. But unlike his peers, three times a week, Drake and his parents make a day-long trip to Stanford Medical Center, where he receives the dialysis treatment he now depends on as his remaining kidney fails.
“Right now,” Fields said, “I’m just waiting for a kidney donation. The typical wait time is around six to 10 years. A living donor would cut that time, but I still have to fix some medical issues before I can even be considered for surgery.”
Fields has been actively searching for a new kidney since his condition worsened. On Nov. 15, community members are hosting an event from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 351 San Felipe Road to raise awareness about both his need for a live donor and the condition he suffers from, VACTERL Association.
VACTERL is 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.
According to Fields’ mother, Diana Fields, Drake was born with all of them.
“We had no idea there was anything wrong until he came out,” she said. “He was blue. He wasn’t able to breathe on his own. His right hand wasn’t complete. And then from there, they just kept finding new things.”
Fields spent his first four months in the hospital, with doctors unsure of his chances of survival. He has undergone a series of surgeries since, most recently to repair his airway, which he said had been reduced to a pinhole. But from the very start, Diana said, Fields showed great spirit and determination.
“We were seeing his personality start to come out,” she said. “He started to smile, and he would blow bubbles out of his tracheostomy tube just to get attention. It was wonderful to see these little things shine through as he grew up.”
Growing up, Fields learned to cope with his medical needs and limitations. For example, tube-fed from birth, he had to bring an extra backpack to elementary school to carry his lunch and the pump he needed to use to consume it.
“My endurance was low,” he said. “My strength overall. I’ve kind of gotten used to it and grown into it. I’ve been able to find workarounds for the different parts of me that are causing issues. I just find a way.”
Two years ago, Fields had to have one of his kidneys removed, and he said that the second one has started failing as well, causing a salt compound, oxalate, to build up in his bloodstream. The day-long trips to Stanford for dialysis three times a week are a holding action, but he needs a new kidney.
One of Fields’s advocates, Linda Liebowitz, received a kidney transplant herself and went through the same uncertainty that Fields is going through now.
“Always in the back of your mind,” she said, “you are wondering about the next step. Am I going to get a kidney? Am I going to have to stay on dialysis? Dialysis is only a temporary measure to restore normal functioning.”
The fundraiser was inspired by a TikTok video that Adam Hill, co-owner of Hill’s Bookstore, made of Fields after the young man dropped off a flyer asking for the community’s help in finding a kidney.
“I didn’t know anything about him.” Hill said, “But I knew he was young and that just felt unfair. A million things ran through my head. I simply asked him if he would like to do a quick video interview, which I could post on social media. He happily agreed.”
The video has had more than 67,000 views across social media and been shared more than 600 times; Hill has heard from people as far away as Colorado who have seen it.
“Drake is so strong and determined,” Hill said. “He’s out there, using the little energy that he has, to go door to door to fight for himself. There’s a nobility in simple dignity. And Drake has that dignity. It makes me want to do more for him.”
The upcoming event, sponsored by Faye Gomez of Las Reinas Bakery, will feature music, games, vendors, food trucks, classic cars and raffle prizes—but the primary goal is to encourage someone in the community to consider becoming a living kidney donor.
Gomez was moved to action after seeing the Hill’s Bookstore video and getting to know Fields through Zoom sessions and texting. She also discovered that many people she knew already knew Fields, including her younger brother, who had attended school with him.
“It was really cool to hear from people around the area who know him,” she said. “They would tell me how great a person he is, what a good attitude he has, and what his goals and aspirations are.”
Hollister resident Jana Panza participated in the living donor program three years ago. She was medically not an exact match for her friend, Mike, who needed the kidney, so it was donated to an 18-year-old woman in San Francisco. While this still left Mike in line for a kidney, her donation earned him a higher place on the transplant list.
“I never really gave it a second thought,” she said, “until my niece had a liver transplant and it saved her life. And I thought, ‘At some point, I’m probably going to donate to somebody because it’s necessary.’”
After a series of tests to verify her as being physically able to donate her kidney, Panza said the entire process involved staying only four days in the hospital, from check-in to release. She said that there was only mild discomfort for about a week afterwards, and that she would do it again if she had another kidney to give.
“I don’t think there’s anything you can really say to push somebody to do it,” Panza said, “It’s really if your heart is telling you to do it. Then you have to do it. Organ donations really do save lives.”
For Fields, a kidney transplant would add a degree of normalcy that the time-consuming dialysis sessions currently deny him, offering him a chance to lead a more productive and fulfilling life.
“Ideally,” he said, “I would be able to go back to physical school to become a registered nurse. I want to be on the other side of the inpatient world. There are a lot of hard things to deal with in a hospital. I want to be that voice for certain people that can’t have a voice.”
Drake Fields on an episode of Kidneys for Kids “Drive for Live” program.
The VACTERL Syndrome Fundraising and Awareness is Nov. 15 from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 351 San Felipe Road in Hollister. Organizers are preparing tents and space heaters in case of rain.
All proceeds will be donated to Drake Fields, who also has a GoFundMe page: “Help Drake Survive Post Kidney Transplant.”
VACTERL stands for:
- Vertebral defects (spine abnormalities)
- Anorectal malformations (anal atresia or stenosis)
- Cardiac defects (heart defects)
- Tracheo-esophageal fistula (abnormal connection between the trachea and esophagus)
- Esophageal atresia (incomplete esophagus)
- Renal defects (kidney abnormalities)
- Limb defects (hand or foot abnormalities)
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