2-year-old getting father's kidney and new lease on life

"It's one of those very emotional times as a parent to be able to give that second chance to your kid," says a father going in for transplant surgery next month for his little girl. 

Marquis and Candice Petit have four children. Their youngest, Eveline has had a rough start in life.

"Eveline was born with kidney failure and little lung development. She was born four weeks early and came out with a bang. We really didn't know what was going to happen when she was born."

When Candice was 18 weeks pregnant she found out that Eveline was having major kidney issues already.

"We knew that we would just trust God in whatever He had for us and however she came," says Candice.

Eveline came into the world not breathing and with no kidney function. The doctors told Candice and Marquis that she most likely wouldn't last the next 24 hours. 

"We sat and prayed and knew that her life was in God's hand. We said, 'You've gotten us this far' as they really didn't think she'd make it this point. And day by day she slowly got better and worse, there were a lot of ups and downs. She had surgery on her third day and started dialysis on her sixth day."

Eveline was able to come home while still on oxygen at five months, with a lot of medication as well. 

"God has completely written her story. We've been doing a workup for a kidney transplant for almost a year now, she's almost three, and she'll be getting the surgery on March 10."

To make the event even more special, Eveline's dad Marquis will be donating one of his kidneys for his daughter. 

Marquis and Candice Petit with their four children. (Supplied)

A Physical Act of Love

While both Candice and Marquis have the same blood type as Eveline, Marquis was found to be a better match.

"It was a long process because we were dealing with COVID and the program shut down," says Marquis. "It's one of those very emotional times as a parent to be able to give that second chance to your kid."

They were supposed to have the surgery in January but the swell of COVID cases in hospitals meant the program was shut down again. 

"When they opened up again they called us and said our next available appointment is March 10 and you're first on the docket," says Candice. "We said, okay, we're ready. We're excited for it to happen finally and get on with this next chapter of her journey."

Eveline will be in the hospital after the surgery for a couple of weeks, barring any complications, and Marquis will be back home after a few days. 

"Right now she's hooked up to a dialysis machine for 10 hours a night, which basically exchanges her body's fluids all night long, doing what her kidney would do. We will thankfully not be attached to that machine at all if everything goes as planned."

The Petit family is asking for prayers as they head into surgery.

"Pray that God's hand would be over the entirety of this situation, that it would go according to His plan. Really that we would have that peace and trust with whatever happens. Pray with what God leads you in this situation as it really means a lot to us."

Family Fundraiser as Grandpa Sets to Cycle Over 1,000 km 

Marquis's dad J.P. came up with an idea to help raise funds for his granddaughter and other kids fighting kidney disease or illness.

"His idea was to cycle from here in Winnipeg all the way down to South Dakota. They had been down there and there is a little park with a monument and kidney springs that's supposed to have water with kidney health benefits to it. He originally thought he would run because he runs marathons, but he decided to cycle it."

The couple received so much support from the Children's Hospital. 

"That's why our hearts are so motivated to raise money for the foundation and for kids going through these traumatic, life-threatening illnesses," says Candice. "The way that they support these kids and families, it just blows us away."

The event has a name #Cycle4Eveline and J.P. will start his ride on June 4. He will be cycling a total of 1,350 km total and by riding roughly 100 km a day, he'll arrive on June 17. As of right now, they've raised just over $3,700 of their $20,000 goal.