'This Child ... Is One Of Ours'

Lexington School Rallies To Help Fund Immigrant Student's Kidney Transplant

By Carolyn Click

Staff Writer

January 4, 2004

Alexi Magos wove her way through a clutch of chattering 6th grade girls, heading toward the freedom of a late-morning recess.

As the kids burst through the doors of Lexington Intermediate School, most ran to grab a basketball or swing on the jungle gym. But 11-year-old Alexi, who suffers from kidney disease, could only watch and mingle with friends.

Her sole hope for restored health is a kidney transplant, an expensive procedure that can drain the finances of even the most well-insured patient.

The $85,000 price tag is an unfathomable sum to Alexi's mother, Norma Chavez, a housecleaner who says she paid a smuggler $4,700 five years ago to spirit her and her two daughters across the Mexican border to the United States.

They have no health insurance and no legal papers to reside in this country.

But those issues have not deterred Lexington Intermediate's principal, teachers and students. They have raised about $48,000 for the transplant and have a number of fund-raisers planned.

"Really, it has just kind of snowballed," said Bob Silva, Lexington Intermediate's principal.

The story could end there, a heartwarming denouement to the holiday season just past.

But because Alexi Magos is an illegal alien, because she could well end up on a national transplant waiting list if no family member can serve as a donor, the story also goes to the heart of the American health system, its generosity and its shortcomings.

Alexi's mother is a believer in that system, even as she is scared of the strange-speaking doctors and the complex medical procedures, including thrice-weekly dialysis, her daughter endures. Her faith in the American dream is so compelling she says she would risk deportment to gain her child's health.

"If they have to deport me, I will not go until she has her transplant," Norma Chavez said through a translator.

'One Of Ours'

Silva has heard the talk about Alexi's illegal status, talk he dismissed early on as the school prepared to assist the shy 6th-grader.

"I heard one or two comments early on suspecting that she was not legal," he said. "I put the word out that this child goes to school here and is one of ours and it doesn't matter if she is legal or not legal."

And, Silva said, it has not mattered. He canvassed local businesses and e-mailed principals around the state who responded with generous donations and offers of matching gifts. Teachers encouraged students to donate to Alexi's fund rather than buy them Christmas presents. Two classes of students held bake sales and raised $1,400.

Parents at the close-knit school heard of Alexi's plight and shared her story with their Sunday schools and churches, garnering more donations.

Her teachers say Lexington Intermediate is like "family," so Alexi's health problem has become the school's problem.

"She's just a real sweet, special girl," said her French teacher, Melanie Mixon. "Very humble, very deserving of what people are doing for her."

At St. Peter's Catholic Church in downtown Columbia, parishioners have been kept abreast of Alexi's plight, said Maria Smoak, the church's director of Hispanic ministries. The church draws a number of Hispanic residents, particularly to the Spanish-language Mass at noon the first Sunday of each month.

Smoak recently learned the Magos family had problems with the heating system in their home and enlisted a charitable group to help pay the bill. Alexi's father is estranged from the family.

"What we want to do is help as much as possible and take some of the burden off the family," Smoak said.

Silva also has been in touch with the office of Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., seeking help in gaining legal status for the family.

Waiting For A Donor

Still unresolved is just who will be Alexi's donor and where she will get the transplant.

Miriam Dopico, a family friend, has been in contact with the Medical University of South Carolina.

"I have no doubt in my mind that they will," said Dopico, who now has power of attorney for the family. But she said, "I want them to tell me yes."

MUSC has estimated the cost of the transplant would be $85,000, not including a $3,000 evaluation and $10,000 for post-transplant follow-up. Anti-rejection drugs also cost about $2,000 per month.

Dopico learned of Alexi's problem through one of her co-workers and has helped the family navigate hospitalizations at Palmetto Richland hospital.

Alexi's doctor, Abdullah Sakarcan, associate professor of clinical pediatrics at USC and chief of the division of pediatric nephrology, could not be reached for comment.

If a family member can provide a suitable match - and there is an uncle in Florida who has indicated he is willing - Alexi would not have to be placed on a national waiting list.

Her status as an illegal immigrant would not prevent her from being placed on that list, according to Annie Moore, a spokeswoman for UNOS, the United Network for Organ Sharing in Richmond, Va. UNOS maintains the central data bank for all U.S. transplants and facilitates all organ matching and placement.

However, while the decision on who to transplant is left up to the individual center, UNOS does restrict transplantation in illegal aliens to 5 percent of a center's total transplants.

'I Love To Run'

For now, Alexi is in a holding pattern.

She braves dialysis on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and entertains herself with crafts and quiet games. She says she would rather be outside playing with her younger sister, Guadalupe, who is 8.

"I love to play soccer and baseball," Alexi said. "I love to run." She has found a home at Lexington Intermediate and a home in South Carolina, she said.

Meanwhile, her mother has kept a meticulous scrapbook of her daughter's medical condition, interspersed with family photos.

Norma Chavez prepares the bland diet her daughter needs, refraining from cooking the spicy Mexican fare in front of Alexi because she knows the smells are so tempting.

Chavez said she has been overwhelmed by the support the community has shown.

"I cannot believe how people are coming forward," she said.

Reach Click at (803) 771-8386 or cclick@thestate.com.

Copyright © 2004 The State, a Knight-Ridder company.

This article posted January 27, 2004.