BREA : Illness Not a Deterrent for Teen

Billy Oliver hasn’t attended a class at Brea-Olinda High School in more than two years but he will still be marching down the aisle with the other seniors on graduation night to receive his diploma.

The 18-year-old student has suffered from chronic kidney disease for four years. He has endured numerous rounds of dialysis, several hospital emergency room visits and two kidney transplants.

As a result of his health problems, Oliver has worked for an hour a day every school day with home teacher Linda Peters since the second semester of the 10th grade.

Oliver’s medical problems began in 1987, said his mother, Cheryl Oliver. Doctors did not know what was wrong until one night just before his 14th birthday, when the boy collapsed. Tests revealed that both his kidneys were undersized and had failed. Dialysis saved Oliver’s life but left him very ill.

At the end of that summer, Oliver had his first kidney transplant. It worked well enough to get him started on the 10th grade, but then he began to reject the new kidney. By early 1990, he was taking massive doses of immune suppressants in an effort to save the donated organ. He was forced to withdraw from school.

Oliver was not able to get a second transplant until last November, when his mother donated one of her kidneys. This transplant appears to have been successful, but doctors do not want Oliver to return to school for several months because his impaired immune system leaves him vulnerable to illness.

Since he hasn’t attended regular classes in more than two years, Oliver said the graduation ceremony does not mean a lot to him. “I actually want to graduate for Mom. I’m doing it for my parents and teacher. They all want to see me march down the aisle and get my diploma,” he said.