Georgia teen in desperate need of kidney was about to be given one by her mother, when her estranged father violently intervened
CANTON, GEORGIA: A Georgia teen is in desperate need of a kidney after his mother, who was supposed to donate hers, was tragically shot and killed by her estranged husband. Kincaid Eaker, 13, was born with chronic, genetic polycystic kidney disease -- which causes the patient's kidneys to enlarge and lose function over time, according to a GoFundMe page set up by family friend Brandy Love that is looking to raise donations that would go towards covering the costs of a potential kidney transplant.
The story of Kincaid, as well as that of his mother Audra, is one of tragedy. Audra had previously lost two boys, one at four-weeks-old and another at just four-days-old, from the same disease that afflicts the teen. Love said after the deaths "her spirit was crushed," and that it "took her years to find her light," which returned after the mother adopted a daughter named Olivia, now 15, back in 2004.
She learned two years later that she was pregnant with Kincaid, which was bittersweet because she was "extremely worried that the same disease would take this baby away too." Her worst fears were confirmed when doctors diagnosed her son with polycystic kidney disease, but she was prepared. Love said she got tested to find out if she was a match for the boy "when he was ready for a transplant," adding that "she knew that there was no question where her son was getting that kidney from."
However, all those plans came crashing down two days after Christmas 2016. She was killed as she drove back home with her estranged husband Darrell Eaker from a party organized by Love. Eaker removed Audra's 45-caliber H&K pistol from the glove compartment and fired eight times as she sat behind the driving wheel. Five of the bullets struck her in the head, killing her instantly.
A Cherokee County jury found Eaker guilty of malice murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, and other charges in 2018, reported the Cherokee Tribune & Ledger-News. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 16 years.
Love said that Kincaid "along with losing his mother, he also lost the kidney that was intended for him." She said while one may "not even realize he is sick," he is "functioning on 19 percent of his kidneys."
"Being born with this [condition] we knew that a transplant was in his future, we just didn’t know when," she wrote on the GoFundMe page.
"Fortunately, medication through his life has kept him stable. We hoped it would be several more years. THE TIME HAS COME! He is now on the transplant waiting list. The doctors are hoping in the very near future for the transplant, actually talking this Christmas, if we can get a donor."