A FATHER
& SON BOND
Finn Lanning
with Damien
and their dog
Dexter at home
in Denver
on Feb. 8.
where, because his disease had shut down his
kidneys, Damien was on dialysis 12 hours a day.
Lanning also learned that the teen desperately
needed a kidney transplant but had been tak-
en off the waiting list because he lacked a stable
home environment where his health and recovery
could be effectively monitored. “I had no experi-
ence being a parent, but I couldn’t look away,”
says Lanning, who qualified to foster Damien in
March 2019—making way for the teen’s success-
ful kidney transplant in June that same year. “Just
seeing him living in a really full way makes some
of this crazy mess feel really worth it—for both of
us,” says Lanning. Adds Damien: “It changed my
perspective on the world. Now I can do anything.”
That wasn’t the case for much of Damien’s ear-
ly childhood. He began showing FGSG symptoms,
such as swelling and difficulty walking, when he
IN IT
TOGETHER
Lanning and
Damien (above)
at the hospital
in May 2019;
and (right)
having routine
blood work
done after his
transplant.
65
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March 2, 2020
