Faces of the Games
PARKER MILBRATH, 6
Minneapolis, Minnesota
As a newborn, Parker was a tad fussy and an impossible eater. Doctors assured his worried parents that it was a phase he would eventually outgrow. But at five months, Parker hadn’t improved and constantly cried during feedings. Frequent trips to the doctor’s office, numerous x-rays and blood tests revealed, finally, that something was terribly wrong with this little boy’s liver. Parker spent days in the hospital while doctors tried diagnose his problem. The days turned into weeks and then months while one fact became certain: Parker’s liver was failing. He needed a liver transplant.
“As a mother, you want to do anything to protect your child, but in this case, all you can do is pray for a miracle,” Gretchen Milbrath, Parker’s mother, said. On October 13th, 2001, Parker got his miracle – new liver. Despite a few minor complications immediately following the surgery, Parker recovered fully and went home two weeks later. With his new liver, Parker grew into an active and energetic boy who loves to sing along to the Sound of Music at the top of his voice. Today it’s hard to imagine that this happy and energetic seven-year-old who thrives on playing and hanging out with friends has ever been anything than 100 percent healthy.
This year marks the five-year anniversary of Parker's transplant. He appreciates the gift he was given and lives life to the fullest. Now in grammar school, Parker enjoys basketball, hockey and riding his bike. Parker won three medals in swimming and track and field events at the 2004 U.S. Transplant Games, and he is currently doing wind-sprints in the driveway to train for the National Kidney Foundation 2006 U.S. Transplant Games.
