CANON CITY, CO — Three Canon City brothers who share a rare genetic condition are sharing their story of receiving life-saving kidney transplants to encourage others to become organ donors.
Marcus Root, 20, Christopher Root, 18, and Austin Root, 17, all share a challenging diagnosis called cystinosis. It is a rare genetic condition that can cause severe health issues, including kidney failure and blindness from crystals that accumulate in the body.
Marcus was diagnosed at 18 months old. When he was 10 years old, his kidneys began failing.
"They were kind of like turning into raisins and as soon as I got my new one I was still having problems with my other two kidneys, so they had to remove those," Marcus said.
Marcus was the first of his brothers to receive a kidney transplant at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora in 2016. Two years later, Christopher and Austin each received a kidney transplant at the same hospital.
Now, the brothers are pursuing their own interests. Christopher loves "The Simpsons," Austin is a fan of horror books and movies, and Marcus is learning to play the guitar.
Staying healthy is a top priority for the family. Their stepmom, Nicole, closely tracks the 50 medications the brothers take every day, including four doses of eye drops.
"This helps with the crystals in their eyes and helps them to be able to go outside in bright light," Nicole said.
Nicole guides their care with a focus on gratitude and communication.
"What does Mom always tell you when things are hard?" Nicole said.
"To communicate," Marcus said.
"I believe everything that we have is a gift and so no matter how hard your day gets, someone else can have it harder," Nicole said. "You just have to be thankful."
The family credits the team at Children's Hospital Colorado for their care. Dr. Margret Boch, the medical director of pediatric kidney transplant at the hospital, has treated the brothers for more than a decade.
"Our goal really is to try to bring you back to what you expected your child's life would be," Boch said.
Boch encourages healthy adults to consider donating a kidney to help children facing similar diagnoses. She noted the success rate of adult kidney donation is often much higher than donations from a child who passes away.
"When you put a little baby kidney into a little baby, those blood vessels are so small that the kidneys clot and then they are not good anymore," Boch said. "An adult, they have much bigger blood vessels that they do much better in small children. We generally like for our kids who do need a kidney transplant to be over about 20 pounds or so and then there's enough room for an adult kidney in there."
Without these donations, Nicole said her family's story would have ended in heartache.
"That gift has given our family, and you see it in our boy's life, a chance to be able to show the world who they are and be able to share that 'I matter and I belong and I'm a fighter and even though I have cystinosis, it doesn't define me'," Nicole said.
According to Donate Life America, more than 100,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving transplant. For more information about becoming a living donor or deceased donations click here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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