A Unique Partnership of University of Minnesota Physicians Transplant Program and Fairview Health Services

Trevis Larkin, 17, keeps his illness in perspective. Since he was two-years-old, Larkin has dealt with kidney failure. He received two kidney transplants, one in 1991 and one in 1995. Both have rejected. Now, Larkin comes to University of Minnesota Medical Center three times a week for dialysis.

Larkin maintains a school schedule and a social life despite his illness. He says he likes to make music, especially percussion. He plays R&B music as well as hip-hop; his favorite artist is Jay-Z. With the help of the Guadalupe Art Program, Larkin made a CD last year with assistance from his teachers. “ I helped with the sound mixing, too,” he says. “I played it for my friends and they liked it.” Larkin says he also likes basketball and plays the point guard position in games.

During last year’s prom season, Larkin wanted to attend his girlfriend’s prom at Johnson High School in St. Paul but his family was unable to cover the cost of his tuxedo. He shared his wish with Kathy Weck, his Fairview social worker.

“I told him I’d try to find someone who could help,” says Weck. Weck has a strong relationship with Larkin as she has seen him go through the past 15 years at the hospital. “He calls me his godmother,” Weck says. “ I’ve been treating him since he was a little baby. It’s been amazing all that he’s been through.”

Weck called the Fairview Foundation and explained the request. Because Larkin had been through two transplants and facing another sometime in the future, he qualified for the transplant patient assistance fund.

“I got a call and they said to go to the tuxedo place and the foundation would take care of it,” Larkin says. “We had dinner at a restaurant, rode in a limo with my girlfriend and one of her friends and after prom everybody got home safe.”

If you would like to send a gift to help with patient assistance, please mail your check made out to Fairview Foundation and designated in the memo line to Transplant Patient Assistance. Mail your check to Fairview Foundation, 2200 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454