Florence teen doesn’t let kidney disease slow him down

On Jan. 30, Michael Sprauve went for a physical at Shaw Air Force Base so he would be eligible to try out for the Wilson High School football team.

The doctor signed off on his form because he seemed to be a healthy 16-year-old boy. His blood pressure was slightly elevated, however, and blood work was ordered.

An hour after Michael and his mom, Machell Sprauve, left the doctor’s office, they received a phone call that would change their family’s life forever.

The nurse said Michael’s creatine level was so high, it indicated renal failure. She said they would have to have his blood work redone as soon as possible.

“I was so confused and panicked,” Machell said.

She took Michael to the nearest hospital, McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, and relayed the information the nurse had given her.

On Feb. 4, less than a week later, Michael was diagnosed with nephronophthisis, a genetic, chronic kidney disease that affects children. Nephronophthisis is characterized by fibrosis and the formation of cysts in a specific region of the kidney.

In Michael’s case, those cysts have depleted his kidney function to 30 to 35 percent and landed him on the approved list to receive a kidney transplant.

For Michael, a junior at Wilson, the news came as a shock. For his mother and father, Clinton Sprauve, a retired member of the Air Force, it was the beginning of a trying journey for their family.

“It’s very demanding,” Machell said.

But being a math teacher in the same high school where Michael is a student has made it easier, she said.

“He has to take seven-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half pills per day, at different times,” Machell said. “Because I work right there, I can check in on him or be there in case of an emergency.”

Michael’s prescriptions include blood pressure medications and supplements to help manage the disease until he receives a transplant.

His lifestyle has changed a lot, Machell said, but he does not let this disease get in the way of being a teenager.

“There’s no reason to complain. It’s not going to help,” Michael said.

Instead, he is determined to still do the things he loves.

Since he is not able play what he calls “rough” sports, Michael runs track and plays golf for Wilson.

Also, because he had to stop eating junk food and has to watch everything he eats — from weighing his meat to make sure it is not more than the 7 ounces a day his diet allows or staying away from foods that are high in protein, phosphorous, sodium and potassium — he started cooking healthy meals for his family.

In 10 months, Michael lost 30 pounds, but not his spirit for life.

When he graduates from Wilson in the spring 2011, he said, he hopes to attend Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte to study the culinary arts and eventually open his own restaurant.

“I want to make separate menus for others that have my disease or a disease like diabetes,” Michael said.

But his interests and aspirations don’t stop there.

He is a member of Tiger Production, the honors chorus at Wilson. He loves to sing, perform and write songs.

Michael and his friends also started a singing group called Star Money Crew, and have recorded five songs and compiled them onto a CD they will start distributing and selling next month.

The Sprauves are working with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA), a charity organization dedicated to organizing and guiding families and communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients.

Since its start in 1986, COTA has assisted more than 1,300 families with fundraising to meet transplant-related expenses — things not covered by insurance — from almost every state and every economic situation.

COTA helps to guide the family and their volunteers through every step, including organizing and training the campaign committee, planning successful events and activities, working with the media and finding multiple sources of funding.

Ruby Charles, the volunteer organizer of COTA fundraising for Michael, describes him as a role model.

“I see what he does in church, I see what he does in school. He wants to move on in high school and to college. We want to help him make his dreams come true,” Charles said.

The Sprauves, with the support of teachers and the whole Wilson High community, hold different fundraisers throughout the year, collecting donations at local businesses in coin boxes and organizing a basketball tournament and yard sales. So far, they have raised $800, with the goal of raising $50,000 toward offsetting Michael’s medical expenses.

“It’s a slow process. We started this summer,” Charles said.

For now, the Sprauves are doing everything they can to keep their spirits up and to ensure this disease does not define who Michael is or somehow come between him and his dreams for the future.
“It’s just a waiting game,” Machell said. “We try to take it one day at a time,” she said.

To make a donation toward helping to offset Michael’s medical expenses, contact Machell Sprauve via e-mail at .

— Staff writer Samantha Shepard can be reached at (843) 317-7261. Comment on this story at http://www.scnow.com.