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Kelly Sims, 26, is donating one of her kidney's to 12-year-old Kaleb Parker, who had both his kidneys removed because of a rare genetic disorder.Click to enlarge

Kelly Sims, 26, is donating one of her kidney's to 12-year-old Kaleb Parker, who had both his kidneys removed because of a rare genetic disorder.Click to enlarge

Hushed voices and muted giggles intermingled with the beeping of a dialysis machine Friday, Jan. 2, as Kaleb Parker and his two brothers, Korey, 13 and Kyle, 14, huddled in a small corner of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The three Fairfield City School district students and kidney donor Kelly Sims, 25, of Cincinnati played a card game of "Apples to Apples" on Kaleb's bed.

The card with the word "courageous," had been placed at the top of the pile, but the irony was lost on the group — two of whom are battling a genetic disorder that has caused hearing loss, hypertension and kidney failure and one of whom is donating her kidney to Kaleb, who had both removed due to End Stage Renal Disease, caused by Alport Syndrome, an inherited disorder caused by a mutation in a gene and found mostly in men. The disorder damages the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys that filter wastes, according to Medline Plus, a medical encyclopedia.

"You'll be walking around with a part of me all the time," Sims said, poking playfully at Kaleb. "You can't get rid of me."

This past year, Kaleb has been getting three-hour dialysis treatments four to five times a week and has been taking multiple hypertension medications to keep his heart stable until his transplant surgery next week. His brother Kyle Parker will face a similar transplant within the next two years.

"I just want to play soccer again," Kaleb said. "I can drink milk. I'm going to eat more food."