SPRINGVILLE, Utah (AP) – A Utah teenager’s kidney transplant that was postponed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic is now scheduled after over three months of waiting.
Isabel “Izzy” Rammell, 13, of Springville, was supposed to undergo the procedure earlier this year, but it was pushed back when Utah hospitals postponed elective surgeries as the pandemic ramped up.
Lara Rammell, Izzy’s mother, said the kidney transplant is scheduled for next month at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, the Daily Herald reported Friday. The donor will be Izzy’s non-biological brother, Skylar Rammell.
Izzy was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease when she was 6 months old, but her health declined earlier this year leading her to miss school, said Lara Rammell.
The Springville mother said she is concerned her daughter could be more susceptible to the virus after the procedure, but that her family will take any precautions to keep her safe.
“We would be doing that whether there was a pandemic or not, but with a pandemic we’ll have to be even more careful just to keep her safe,” Lara Rammell said.
