Abbi Penning’s family brought her to SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital when she was two-and-a-half years old. Abbi was born with VATER syndrome, a term used when a child is diagnosed with birth defects in three or more body parts. Abbi was in renal distress, along with several other medical issues. “We lost track of how many surgeries she had after 13. After a few years, it became obvious she was going to need a transplant,” Abbi’s mother Ami said.
Once placed on the kidney transplant waiting list, Abbi and her family began working with Erin Foristal, a nurse and transplant coordinator at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon. Abbi and Erin became fast friends, and according to Abbi, “Erin’s like a part of our family. She gets to know you on a personal level.” Erin knows how important her work is to help patients like Abbi receive the life-saving treatment they deserve, and her dedication doesn’t stop there. Erin, herself, is a living kidney donor, she donated her “spare” kidney to another pediatric patient.
Thankfully, Abbi was able to avoid going on dialysis, and when she was 9 years old, she matched with a donor kidney. Abbi, now 19 years old, works closely with Dr. Joseph Maliakkal, a SLUCare physician and part of the transplant team to carefully coordinate her ongoing care. “Here at Cardinal Glennon, our team and our service is so special because we have a lot of expertise and we work together as a team,” said Dr. Maliakkal.
Today, the Penning family lives in a suburb of Chicago, but they still travel to SSM Health Cardinal Glennon for her transplant checkup appointments. “It’s my child, my firstborn, and the care has just been phenomenal that we’ve had her. To the point that we drive five hours every four months for that care,” Ami Penning, Abbi’s mom said. “We tell people that this is her home away from home.
Upon receiving her transplant, Abbi knew what her future career would be in nursing and she was inspired by her own transplant nurse Erin. Now, Abbi is studying to become a transplant coordinator, just like Erin so she too can help save the lives of transplant patients. Erin hopes one day Abbi will be working in the office next to her.
