My son Daxton is only seven years old, but he’s already lived through a staggering amount of loss.

He’s lost two kidneys. The ability to travel or go swimming. A normal school schedule. The chance to do extracurricular activities.

Daxton was born with chronic kidney disease. From day one, we knew he would require extra care, including supplemental nutrition through a feeding tube, numerous medications and eventually a transplant, likely when he was a teenager.

When Daxton was only three years old, his medical team shocked us by telling us he needed a transplant right away, years sooner than we’d anticipated. This was a huge, unexpected blow. I couldn’t understand it. He was growing in leaps and bounds. He was thriving, mentally and physically. His tests all said he was stable. Until he wasn’t.

As you can imagine, I was a nervous wreck as they wheeled my little boy into the operating room. But I was thankful that my husband was a match and able to donate his kidney to Daxton. We had hope that a transplant would give him a chance at a healthy, normal childhood.

Those hopes were soon dashed. Five days after the transplant, the new kidney was still not working. It had to be removed.

I wasn’t ready to give up. Just over a year later, another kidney became available for Daxton. Everyone was full of confidence. But once again, the transplant failed.

And in the process, Daxton almost died.

We don’t know if Daxton will ever be strong or healthy enough to attempt another transplant. The doctors say we can reassess in a few years, when he’s 11 or 12.

Until then, he’ll be on dialysis – and his life will be very different than other little boys his age. Three times a week, I pick him up from school at lunch and take him for four hours of dialysis at the hospital. Sometimes he cries on the way. Sometimes I do, too.

Kids affected by kidney disease need all the support we can give them.

What a difference it makes to be able to talk with others who understand how complex and life-altering kidney disease can be. Peer support volunteers are an absolute lifeline when it comes to answering questions, sharing insights and being a listening and empathetic ear.

Kidney disease has stolen much of Daxton’s childhood. As Daxton’s mother, my heart aches for him. But thanks to The Kidney Foundation, I still have hope.