Owen Joseph “Boo” Borne, V Son of Owen Borne, Recently resigned as transplant donor

Boo born on Thursday, April 15, 2004 weighing 2 pounds and 5 ounces.  His mother had pre-eclampsia at 23 weeks of pregnancy and was on bed rest until 28 weeks, at which time he was taken by emergency C-section.  He was on a ventilator for the first week of his life and spent the remaining 2 ½ months in the hospital.  Finally, on June 26 he was able to go home weighing only four pounds.  Because this was such a difficult pregnancy, his mother, who is a teacher, was out of work for the last three months of school.  His father took several weeks off of work also to help take care of mother and baby.

Soon thereafter, the hospital bills began pouring in.  Boo was covered under his mother’s insurance at the time, but his parents were still responsible for 30% of the bills.  His first year of life was rather uneventful until December of 2005.  He began getting sick with basic cold symptoms when he was diagnosed with bronchitis.  Then in January, the diagnosis was RSV (respiratory stress virus).  By the end of February when antibiotics were not working, his mother took him to his pediatrician to find out the most devastating news—his belly was distended and the pediatrician suspected Hepatoblastoma (pediatric liver cancer).  This disease affects only one in 1,000,000 children each year.  He was quickly referred to the Children’s Hospital of New Orleans for treatment.  The bad news was confirmed and the family was absolutely devastated.  Again, his mother could not return to work. Just two days later, there was a liver biopsy which confirmed an alpha-fetoprotein number of 1.2 million.  Alpha-fetoprotein is the number used to calculate the amount of active cancer cells in the liver.  Normal is 0 to 15.  He was also classified as stage IV due to spots of cancer on his lungs.  His parents were now going to embark on another journey of being Boo’s parents as well as his medical caretakers.  On March 5, 2006, he began chemotherapy treatment which included Cysplatin, Vincristine, and 5FU.  There were four scheduled rounds which would last a total of four months.  He was scheduled to be discharged from the hospital within two weeks after finishing the other chemo’s at clinic once a week.  However, there were complications from the liver biopsy causing him to lose a lot of blood which landed him in the PICU for three days.  His parents thought he was all healed from the liver biopsy when he continued with a fever for two more months.  The chance of infection and a suppressed immune system from chemotherapy prevented him from leaving the hospital until April 22, 2006.  There was some good news that the spots on his lungs were gone, thanks to the chemo, and the tumor was shrinking.  He now had an AFP of 8000.  This drastic drop showed that the chemo was working.  In May, the AFP rose to 24,000 and a few weeks later it was up to 26,000.  This told us that he was no longer responding to chemo.  They spoke to a radiologist who analyzed his CT scans and by the end of May they knew they needed to be very careful when choosing a surgeon for this delicate surgery.  The surgery would either be a tumor resection should the chemo begin to work again or liver transplant.  His mother knew they had to leave New Orleans for this surgery when beginning to research “where” in the country is the best for pediatric liver transplants.  There were no statistics available for New Orleans and very few available at other hospitals around the country.  The one location that did the majority of pediatric liver transplants with the best success rate was Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.  They also performed the most living donor transplants.  His mother spent the last two weeks in June planning the trip to Pittsburgh having medical records sent and choosing housing options.  His father took a leave of absence from his job (without pay) and the Bornes departed on Saturday, June 24, 2006.  Boo Borne was born a fighter and his parents knew he needed to be given the best possible chance in the best possible place.  They arrived in Pittsburgh on June 26, 2006 with lots of doctors appointments scheduled for the next two weeks.  The oncologist and the liver surgeon agreed that a fifth and sixth round of chemo could possibly prevent a transplant while allowing a resection surgery.  By this time, Boo’s alpha-fetoprotein had risen to 49,000.  After round five of chemo and now one month after relocating to Pittsburgh, the alpha-fetoprotein was at 89,000, once again confirming that he was not responding to chemo.  During the month of July, his father Owen Borne IV was going through a series of tests to be matched as Boo’s living donor.  There was a possibility that Owen’s left lobe of his liver could be transplanted into Boo, serving as his new liver.  By now, Boo was listed on the transplant list but the 89,000 AFP told the family that they could not wait for a liver from the list.

Update

At the end of July, Owen IV was given the good news that he was a “perfect match” for his son and the transplant was scheduled for Wednesday, August 2, 2006.  After an eleven hour surgery, the news was good saying that dad’s liver fit “perfectly” into Boo.  The Bornes still had to wait on pathology results to tell them how much of the cancer was out or left behind and exactly what this meant for their future as far as “mop up” chemo rounds.  Boo’s father, Owen, was discharged from the hospital one week after surgery, but Boo is still hospitalized fighting to keep the new liver working.  The pathology showed that a little of the cancer was left behind and four to six chemo rounds could be expected post transplant.  The Bornes plan to remain in Pittsburgh while Boo’s new liver is closely monitored.  The doctors told them to expect to stay four to six weeks after discharge from the hospital to attend clinic appointments.  At that time, they plan to return to New Orleans for Boo to receive his remaining rounds of chemo.  His mother plans to try to return to work in January so that she is able keep her health insurance while employed as a French teacher at Belle Chasse High School for the Plaquemines Parish School Board.  Boo’s recovery time and God’s plan for him will help her to make that decision when the time comes.  For now, we wait and watch Boo and daddy Owen get stronger and stronger each day.