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HUNTINGTON UNIV MAGAZINE

Student overcomes health issues to attend Huntington

FOR RELEASE September 26, 2006

Zane works on a film he created with his iMac G5, which he received from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

HUNTINGTON, IN—Sherry Altizer is a concerned mother. Her oldest son, Zane, left home for Huntington University this fall. Sherry’s concern, however, is a somewhat out of the ordinary.

While most mothers ask questions about curriculum, campus safety and scholarship opportunities on campus visits, Sherry asked about student health and disability services, distance to the nearest hospital and distance to the nearest 24-hour pharmacy.

Zane Altizer is a transplant patient. On Oct. 15, 2004, Zane received a kidney transplant after the removal of his right kidney when he was only four years-old. Sherry was the donor.

Zane relaxes in his residence hall room after a tough day of classes.

“I really wanted to be the donor,” Sherry, of Centerburg, Ohio, said. “When children are sick, I think moms just want to be the ones to make it all better. This is how I felt. I think I would have been very disappointed if I had not been a match. 

Despite serious health issues, Zane is determined to succeed at Huntington. He desires to turn his hobby – filmmaking – into a career with a major in digital media arts.

 “After I saw Huntington for the first time, I knew where I wanted to go to school,” said Zane. “Then I found out it was a Christian school, and I just had to do a little dance! Everything’s perfect!”

Upon his first visit, Zane was impressed with the digital media arts equipment and department. Most of the other schools he visited weren’t as focused on digital media, and their equipment was outdated. 

“We visited some other schools, but found ourselves comparing them all to Huntington,” Sherry said. “At some point, Zane’s conversations changed from, ‘when I go to college,’ to ‘when I go to Huntington.’”

Zane has struggled with health problems since the age of four. At that age, he began having frequent fevers with seemingly no cause or other symptoms. When a fever spiked that would not go away, and his pediatrician could not find a cause, he was admitted to the infectious disease unit of Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Testing revealed that his right kidney was very small, not functional and infected. The hospital treated the infection and soon removed the problematic kidney. 

Annual check-ups showed a small cyst on Zane’s remaining kidney when he was 10. However, it was not growing nor spreading, so concern dwindled.

Three years later, Zane came home from school one day complaining of not feeling well. The next morning he had a fever. The doctor said it was the flu. When Zane did not get better, he went in again. This time it was strep throat. After three more weeks went by, and Zane lost 25 pounds, he was admitted to the urgent care facility of the Children’s Hospital. He was in acute renal failure.

Acute soon changed to chronic, and his only kidney had been damaged. A year later he was readmitted to the hospital with strep throat, a urinary tract infection, acute renal failure and a serious blood infection. His kidney would not rebound from this. He needed a transplant, and soon.

Several people volunteered to be tested at potential donors: grandma, a couple of aunts, an uncle, a cousin, his sister, his father, five members of his church, a substitute teacher at Zane’s school, and George, their UPS carrier.

“George didn’t end up having to give his kidney, but he still made chocolate chip cookies for us when we had our surgery,” Sherry said. “He really takes that ‘What can brown do for you?’ thing seriously!”

George wasn’t the donor because Sherry was the first to be tested, and she was a match. The surgery went smoothly.

In early January of this year, Zane was hospitalized for decreased kidney function and transplant rejection. Luckily, he was released in fair condition on Jan. 30.

Zane grew fairly close to the transplant nurses, Julie and Lori. He told them about his dream to work in digital media. He had begun to play around with some skateboarding videos and to put those to some of his favorite music. He also wanted to make a video to help other kids who needed transplants. However, in the midst of this project, he again fell ill. This is when the transplant nurses nominated Zane for a wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation—a computer and video editing software.

On Oct. 2, 2005, Sherry received news that the foundation had granted the wish. Deciding to surprise him, the family went out to eat at Cracker Barrel.

“I actually wanted to stay home and work on my giant pile of homework I had that night,” Zane said, “but my mom told me it would be good.”

From behind, the waitress set a tray down in front of Zane and asked if he had ordered it. It was a box of software tied with a ribbon. Then the Make-A-Wish volunteers popped out with balloons and took Zane out their car. There they also had a new computer, a new iMac G5, a new computer desk, and even more software for him.

“I had no idea what was going on,” Zane said. “I was just so happy; I thought I might explode!”

“He could hardly sleep that night, and it was difficult for him to go to school the next day,” Sherry added. “All he could think about was getting everything set up and running.”

Zane finished his first short film last November for a school project. He also started his film to help other kids in need of transplants while he was in the hospital in January.

“Even though Zane has some pretty serious health problems, that is only part of who he is,” she said. “I realize that illness cannot be the only thing that defines him. So, whatever he wants to do, he should do.”

Zane is prepared to be out on his own. He is not worried because his health issues are just a part of his everyday life, he said. He knows the names of all his medications, their purposes and their side effects. He knows the lab tests and even which type of needle they should use when they draw his blood. He is responsible for taking his own medication and getting refills. He takes his own vital signs and reports them via the internet to his transplant center. He carries his insurance cards, knows what danger signs to look for and knows what to do if they occur. But if being away at college turns out to be too much for Zane, Sherry explains that they will come up with a plan B.

“No matter what happens, he knows his family will always be here for him,” Sherry added. “That makes it easier for him to go, and easier for us to let him.”

Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S.News & World Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest. Founded in 1897 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Huntington University is located on a contemporary, lakeside campus in northeast Indiana. The University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).

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