“It was very much inevitable,” Kim said.
After dealing with fertility challenges prior to the pregnancy, Kim and her husband Paul were determined to fight for PJ.
“We fought for him before he was born and we’re still fighting for him every day,” Kim said.
If the two rare liver conditions weren’t challenging enough, PJ was also born with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) a rare genetic disorder which often requires dialysis or a transplant.
“We were expecting his kidney to go first but then his liver decided to try to kill him,” Kim said. “Infection after infection after infection – one of which caused his gallbladder to go gangrene – he needed to get a liver first.”
Already on the UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) list for a liver transplant, PJ moved up significantly after the impact on the gallbladder. When the call came that there was a donor, the Springfield family made record time getting to Cincinnati Children’s.
The then 9-year-old received his liver and recovered in near record time. While many transplant patients spend a week in the ICU, PJ was there only 2 ½ days. And what could have been 3-4 long weeks recovering on the liver floor ended up being less than five full days. Just a day after the transplant, PJ was on the move, walking around the hospital wing and “stealing” a chocolate milk along the way.
Fast forward four years and the Global Impact STEM Academy 8th grader, now 13, will represent Ohio at the 2026 Transplant Games in June in Colorado where he will compete as a bowler. For more than three decades, organ, eye and tissue recipients as well as living donors have come together to celebrate life, raise awareness and compete in a variety of sports.
PJ wants to do more than compete.
“Winning is my goal,” he said with a smile. “I’m definitely going to do that.”
While his health issues prevented him from playing contact sports, bowling has long been something PJ has enjoyed. With a 165 high game and 120+ average, he is excited to compete against other youth bowlers from across the country. Strikes and spares, however, are not what matters most to PJ.
“I feel like this is a good way to honor my donor,” he said. “And represent Ohio.”
Beyond the games, PJ plans to bowl next year for Greenon High School. He and his family, which now includes younger brother Remington, 11, know that another transplant — a kidney — is likely in the not-so-distant future, but PJ takes it all in stride.
“I’m not scared because I enjoy being in the hospital,” he said.
As long as there is chocolate milk that is.
To learn more about PJ’s story or donate to his Transplant Games fundraising efforts, visit Praying for PJ on Facebook.
Donate Life Ohio: More than 3,000 Ohioans are currently awaiting a lifesaving organ donation with more than 106,000 on the national waiting list. Sadly, 20 people in this country die each day awaiting a donor organ. To learn more about becoming a donor or to join the Ohio Donor Registry, visit https://donatelife.ohio.gov/home.
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