Pupil with transplant relishes school days

Terran Robinstein, who has a rare disorder, missed school two years. He's glad to be back.

PORT RICHEY - Kim Robinstein can't help but be grateful for the yellow bus that rolls up at 8:30 most mornings and welcomes her 7-year-old son into its boxy interior packed with healthy youngsters.

It has been two years since Terran Robinstein has been able to go to school, and she's just happy to see him happy.

On Thursday, the Robinsteins celebrated the one-year anniversary of Terran's bowel transplant - a procedure that offered to strengthen his then-6-year-old body from the pain of Hirschsprung's disease, a rare disorder resulting in a malfunctioning colon.

That Terran spent the day attending Northwest Elementary, playing on his computer and dutifully fulfilling his role as the center of attention during a party in his own home was more than reason to celebrate.

"Think about it," Kim Robinstein said. "He wasn't supposed to live this long. It's so cool to watch him go to school."

Since the operation last year, Robinstein reported, her son has spent more time in hospitals in St. Petersburg and Miami than he has at home. His body hasn't dealt well with the transplant. The family might have to consider another transplant someday, she said.

But right now, the Robinsteins are focused on letting Terran be a kid for as long as his body lets him.

"He's 7 years old and never attended a birthday party. He had his last two birthday parties in a hospital," his mother said. "Now he tells me he has a new best friend."

Just before his birthday Aug. 16, Terran lost a buddy his same age who was battling the same disease. Hirschsprung's has no cure.

Robinstein said her biggest wish for her son right now is to be happy and enjoy the company of healthy children without fearing the goodbyes.

Due to his illness, Terran started school Sept. 2, almost a month after his peers.

But Renee Sedlack, principal of Northwest Elementary, said the boy has settled nicely in his second-grade class. She said she can tell so, because he rarely wipes the smile off his face.

"It's like he's known us forever," Sedlack said.

Despite his ordeal, Terran is still a regular kid: He even managed to get in trouble Thursday for not following directions, his mother said with a chuckle.

"The doctors can take care of the medical aspects of Terran," Kim Robinstein said. "The only thing I can control is keeping him happy."

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