Patient Care Package Program Launched By Danville Nonprofit

DANVILLE, CA — The Nephrotic Syndrome Foundation in Alamo has seen a 14-year-old boy develop cancer from medication used to treat his disease and a 14-year-old girl go through a double kidney removal as a result of her condition.

The foundation sought to make NS a little bit less painful for those patients by giving them custom gift packages last year. Now, the Nephrotic Syndrome Foundation is expanding the effort and introducing its Little Angels program, a partnership between the foundation and Me To You Box, said Assistant Director Melissa Kutrosky in an email.

The foundation recently worked to craft a care package for a three-year-old with an affinity for felines and trains.

"Sometimes a small, unsolicited gift of kindness and support is enough to help a child, sibling or parent stay strong and weather the storm, to brighter days," she wrote.

The foundation seeks to give gift packages valued at $150 to $200 to six to eight young patients with NS, a rare auto-immune disease that occurs when a person's kidneys are damaged and cause an excess of protein to be excreted into urine, according to the National Kidney Foundation. It can cause swelling, an increase of fat in the blood, blood pressure issues and more.

Side effects can be permanent, and treatments are limited, the Nephrotic Syndrome Foundation said. Treatments might include transplants and cancer medications with intense side effects, and lots of time spent in the hospital and doctor's office.

Families do not solicit the gifts, but patients will be nominated by founder and president Andi Callaway — mother to a kid with NS — and other parents who have children affected by the disease, Kutrosky said. The foundation hopes to serve more patients in future years.

Anyone who wishes to support the Little Angels program may do by donating to the Nephrotic Syndrome Foundation here.