Facebook follower becomes lifeline for toddler desperate for new kidney

FRESNO, Calif. -- Kaleb is an active toddler who loves to play and show off his toys to new guests.

But the two and a half-year-old suffers from an extremely rare condition called Prune Belly Syndrome -- basically, he was born without abdominal muscles.

Kaleb continues to live as close to a normal life as possible, but doctors recently informed his parents he is in desperate need of a new kidney.

"Kaleb's labs the last couple of months have been getting worse and worse at a level where he would typically be on dialysis," said Mandy Perry,the toddler's mother. "And as soon as that started happening Suzie reached out to me."

Suzie is from Fresno and a mother of three. She has no relation to the Perry family and had never met them until recently, but she has been following Kaleb's story on Facebook.

It turns out she a perfect match and has agreed to donate her kidney to Kaleb.

"She called me and said they approved me and I get to give a kidney to Kaleb and automatically I was just in tears because I don't know what to say," Perry said. "I can't even tell you how much you mean to us and how thankful we are."

The transplant surgery will be done at Stanford later this month.

"When you can't help your child like you can't do anything and you have to depend on someone else to do that for you its scary," Perry said. "It's going to give him life. I can't even explain on that feels just to know someone would do that for him."

Spirit Horse Connections in Kingsburg is holding a fundraiser carnival May 22 to help with medical costs and travel expenses.

The family is required to stay in the Palo Alto area for at least six weeks after surgery.

"His doctor told us on Tuesday if he didn't have this donor I would be talking to you about dialysis. And I could breathe again after hearing that because I know its the right thing," Perry said. "It's scary, but I just know...I have that peace about it."

The Perry family is also planning a trip to Disneyland later this week to celebrate Kaleb's donor match.

If you'd like to help out or attend next week's fundraiser you can find more information on Facebook at A Miracle for Kaleb.