This Young Student Received A Disheartening Diagnosis, But Then An Unlikely Hero Stepped In

When new student Damien started at AXL Academy in Aurora, CO, a few years ago, he took to the school like a duck to water. The youngster was smart and dedicated and he quickly struck up a relationship with one teacher in particular: his math tutor, Finn Lanning. This kind of bond wasn’t unusual at AXL as Finn later told website The Western Journal.

“Our school is small, so we are a tight-knit community that tends to develop strong relationships between the school and students and families,” revealed Finn. He felt there was something special about Damien but could tell he’d had a rough time. In truth, he had no idea what the 12-year-old had already been through in his short life.

Besides family members, teachers often provide the strongest adult presence in kids’ lives. They can sometimes be genuine influences on them and can push the children to great things academically and personally. But few could have predicted the impact Finn would soon have on Damien — and let’s just say it had nothing to do with math. 

By 2018 Finn had been teaching at AXL for seven years. In his private life, he was a committed bachelor with no children, and he reportedly enjoyed his life as a singleton. He loved his work too, though, and when Damien first arrived in his class, he almost immediately took a shine to the kid.

Finn later told People magazine, “He was one of the few new students. He was studious and smart and funny, and he was in a couple of my elective classes as well, so we’d gotten to know each other a bit.” This made it hit hard for Finn when Damien told him that, after Thanksgiving vacation, he couldn’t come back to school.

The perceptive teacher had an inkling that something was going on with the boy. He told The Western Journal, “I knew Damien had some health issues that sometimes caused him to miss school, take regular medications and not be able to eat the things that other students were eating.” When he asked why the boy was leaving, though, he was told a terribly sad tale.

Damien suffered from focal segmental glomerulosclerosis — also known as FSGS — a disease which had wreaked havoc on his kidneys. Not only that, but he had also been in the foster care system for four long years. From time to time, though, he had to stay in hospitals, because his medical needs made him difficult to place in a home.

“He told me he had to leave the foster home he was living in and was moving into the hospital because they didn’t have another place for him,” revealed Finn. Obviously, there was nothing in his teaching training that told him how to handle such a sensitive situation. He admitted, “I remember kind of sitting there with him and not really knowing what to say.” 

Damien told Finn that his kidneys had failed when he was eight, and this was when he first went on dialysis. After going through a number of foster homes, he had been taken in by a relative the summer before he began attending AXL Academy. During this period, things had looked as though they were on the up — Damien’s physical and mental health had improved considerably.

Things had improved so much, in fact, that Damien had found himself on the waiting list for a new kidney. He was mere months — or even weeks — away from getting something that could give him a new lease on life. But then disaster struck: taking care of Damien proved to be too much for the relative, and he was returned to the custody of the county.

Sadly, it hadn’t been the first time a family member had been unable to give Damien the care and attention he needed. When he’d first started displaying symptoms of FSGS, he had been living with his mother. She wound up losing her rights as a parent because she couldn’t provide adequate medical care. Thankfully, she is still in his life, and they see each other every couple of months.

That episode had left Damien in a tough situation — basically, living in a medical facility. Finn told People, “He was getting passed around to different people who offered different levels of care with long periods in-between of literally living alone in a hospital because there was no place else for him to go. He’d have a nurse who took care of his health and that was his life.”

Damien kept ending up back in hospital because several foster families who considered taking him in failed to follow through. In fact, a number agreed to take the training course required to understand his complicated needs. But after a few days seeing the reality of what they’d be taking on, they simply didn’t come back. 

On top of that, Damien’s unusual living situation meant kidney surgery was out of the question. In fact, he was crossed off the waiting list for a new organ, because one of the prerequisites of such a surgery is having a stable home environment. The hospital needed Damien to have a fixed address where they could keep a close eye on his health after the surgery.

After Damien left for Thanksgiving break, Finn felt he needed to stay in touch with him. So, he began visiting the boy every week at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver. He witnessed the harrowing sight of a boy whose kidneys had totally failed, leaving him hooked up to a dialysis machine for exactly half of every day.

Finn told The Western Journal, “Despite the best efforts of the staff, a hospital wing is not a place for a child to live. His conditions were closer to a prison than a home.” Then a seed was planted in his mind by an unsuspecting doctor, who pleaded, “If you know anyone who wants a great kid, send them our way!”

“This jump-started the consideration that I might be able to help Damien with more than math,” admitted Finn. Try as he might, he couldn’t get the thought out of his head. Maybe he really was the right person to help Damien? Maybe he was someone who wanted that great kid in his life?

The realization soon dawned on Finn, and he knew what he had to do — give the boy a home. During Christmas vacation 2018 he made the decision to foster Damien, and this meant going through the training on how to care for him. For instance, the teacher now had to learn how to administer the daily 12-hour dialysis at home.

“It’s a lot scarier and riskier than I thought,” admitted Finn, who was shocked to find out what dialysis truly entailed. But he wasn’t put off by this fear, instead resolving to do everything he could to give Damien what he needed. This also involved scheduling all his medical appointments and — by way of an example — buying special toothpaste: patients with renal failure need a specific kind.

“I’d really thought a lot about this decision,” explained Finn, who had seen how the system had let Damien down previously. He told People, “I didn’t want to be another person in a long line who’d made a commitment to him and then couldn’t keep it. I wanted him to trust me and feel comfortable.” 

During this period, Finn needed to take two vacation days per week simply to drive Damien to his medical appointments. Luckily, the school was very understanding, with Finn telling CNN, “A number of teachers have donated their vacation time off. The support from my school community has been wonderful.” 

In order to ensure he had the means to truly support Damien, though, Finn set up a GoFundMe account. He wanted desperately to help — but he needed help himself. On the landing page he wrote, “Over the last several months, I have taken much time off of work to be trained to care for his special medical and dietary needs, as much of this care occurs in the home.” 

“The initial expense of creating space for a special-needs child in my home has been considerable,” explained Finn. “I am anticipating additional expenses — clothing, special dietary needs, increase in transportation costs for appointments, increased time off work — over the next several months until I am able to begin receiving financial assistance for his care.” The public’s response was swift and inspiring.

Money began coming in immediately, and Finn posted an emotional update in February 2019. He wrote, “The outpouring of support from so many people who I know — and many that I do not know — has been unexpected.” He added, “It makes a huge difference for me to know that I have help from so many other people as Damien and I start on this journey.”

By March 2019 Finn had successfully gained the qualifications needed to foster Damien and, in a way, had become his dad. He told People, “I had no experience being a parent, but I couldn’t look away. I never thought I would end up being a father.” But how did the boy, so used to being dealt a bad hand, feel about all this?

Well, Damien affectionately joked to CBS News, “I was like, ‘Yes! I get out of the hospital!’ But I was like, ‘My math teacher? Out of all the people!’” It was obvious they shared a bond, though, and they got along like a house on fire. Still, Damien tried not to get his hopes up — he’d had his fingers burned before.

Damien admitted, “It’s kind of bad thinking about that, but some people actually do that. Like, they’ll be happy with you one day and then just kick you out the next.” Finn worked hard to convince the boy that he would always be there for him, though, and by mid-2019, a big step forward was made. Yes, Damien got his all-important kidney transplant on June 14. 

On the fundraising page, Finn told their supporters the good news. He wrote, “About three weeks ago, Damien got a new kidney! We are home from the hospital and Damien is doing great. His kidney is working really well, and his dietary and fluid restrictions have been lifted. He is eating like it’s the first time in years his food has tasted good — which it is!”

Finn continued, “He has a lot more energy — which he is using for anything except chores — and we are both enjoying the freedom to spend a lot more time out of the house.” He added, “The safety net that has been created by the generous support of so many people has made this time much simpler for both of us.” Disappointingly, though, life then threw them a curveball.

Damien was forced to endure two months of increased FSGS symptoms, as the kidney transplant had aggravated the disease. Treatment included debilitating chemotherapy and plasmapheresis — the latter term a fancy way of saying medics removed plasma from the young student’s blood. But by September 2019 Damien’s FSGS had gone into remission and the brave young man could safely look to the future.

Amazingly, Damien made it back to school in August 2020 and, even more incredibly, took up swimming and other school sports. The bond between him and Finn also continued to go from strength to strength. They revealed to People magazine that they enjoyed cooking together, with crab and shrimp boil being their speciality. 

Interestingly, Finn and Damien made sure to cook together even when the boy’s diet was still heavily restricted. It was something they both loved, yet it would inevitably lead to discussions about what Damien wanted to eat when he finally had a free choice. He told CNN he was a fan of 7-Eleven nachos and the McDonald’s hot-and-spicy chicken sandwich — with extra mayonnaise!

Damien’s new life was a far cry from his situation only a short time before. He admitted to People, “You kind of lose hope after a while when you’re living in the hospital. But now I can settle in, go to school, make friends and live a good life.” That good life even involved spending his first family Christmas with Finn’s folks in Kansas, where he revealed a talent for karaoke!

Finn also marveled at the incredible places life can take you. He told People, “It’s super-cool to react… [to] how different things are and to see him be able to just enjoy things that regular kids get to enjoy. I never expected this to be my life, but I’m so happy it is. We’re in it together.”

In February 2020 Finn posted another extremely positive update on the GoFundMe page. He wrote, “These last several months of healing have been a great boost for Damien in so many ways. He has been able to go back to school, make new friends, start playing sports, eat all kinds of new foods that he couldn’t have before.”

Finn continued, “And he’s even started growing! He is very excited to have finally passed the 5’ mark — and still going! In terms of recovery, things are going well. His new kidney is functioning great.” While he knew the boy was still going to be closely monitored for a long time, as far as Finn was concerned, it was all positive news for Damien.

During a Zoom interview with Steve Hartman of CBS News’ On The Road in March 2021 Finn admitted, “Even though it’s been absolutely the hardest thing I’ve ever done, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” He then glanced at Damien and gave his punchline with a laugh: “I’ll keep him!”

In early 2020 Finn began the long path toward making his role in his former student’s life permanent. Within a year he had officially adopted Damien, who told CBS News, “It’s like a dream come true.” After everything, the grateful boy admitted, “It changed my perspective on the world. Now, I can do anything.” 

As for what the future holds, it’s likely Damien will need another kidney transplant at some point. But, as Finn told Who magazine, “If he’s extremely lucky, his kidney might last 25 years.” Damien can at least trust that Finn will be in his life to face any hurdles that crop up in years to come — and that means everything to both of them.