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Merrimack Valley

Young kidney recipient to sing at Symphony Hall

North Andover kidney recipient, 11, to sing at Symphony Hall

By Crystal Bozek
cbozek@eagletribune.com
Published: May 26, 2009

NORTH ANDOVER — Even as Ariana Kershenbaum was sick and hooked up to dialysis machines, she picked up a ukulele-sized mandolin and started learning how to play.

Ariana can figure out instruments like other children solve math problems.

So it is only natural the 11-year-old will use music to help raise money this weekend for transplant research and organ donor awareness. She will sing at Boston's Symphony Hall as part of the Share the Beat event.

Ariana received a kidney transplant from an anonymous donor when she was 8.

When asked about taking the stage Saturday with the likes of country star Phil Vassar, composer John Williams, "Desperate Housewives" actor James Denton and the Boston Pops, her answer was humble.

"Umm ... I had a transplant and I can sing," Ariana said as her father, Ed Kershenbaum, shook his head with a smile.

The fifth-grader will sing the gospel tune "Ain't No Grave (Gonna Hold Me Down)" as her older sisters, Liz and Ayelet, play the fiddle.

Ariana was asked to perform after her doctor, William Harmon, a member of the Share the Beat host committee, saw a clip of her singing on the Internet. Impressed with Ariana's soulful voice, Harmon downloaded it to his iPhone and showed the other doctors. She had performed "Ain't No Grave" at the Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School camp. Ayelet recorded it, placing it on the video-sharing Web site YouTube.

Ariana, who aspires to be a professional musician, finds it amusing the ailment that initially slowed her down is now giving her 15 minutes of fame.

"I'm famous," she joked.

Although Ariana now attends the Jewish Community Day School in Watertown, she will start sixth grade at North Andover Middle School in September.

When Ariana first became ill, everything happened so fast for the Kershenbaums.

Havatselet "Sue" Kershenbaum had taken her daughter to the doctor to squeeze in a routine physical a few days before summer camp started.

The doctor initially gave Ariana a clean bill of health. But when Sue asked about unusual bruising on her daughter's legs and said Ariana had been pale and itchy, the doctor sent them to Lawrence General Hospital for tests.

From there, they were sent to Children's Hospital, where physicians discovered a previously undetected congenital kidney problem. Her kidneys were not funneling out toxins, instead letting them build up in her body. If caught earlier, it could have been prevented.

But Ariana's kidneys were destroyed.

"We had no clue until it was too late," Sue Kershenbaum said. "Just one urine or blood test would have caught it."

What followed were surgeries, dialysis three times a week, and a monthlong stay at the hospital before Ariana's kidneys were removed. She could only drink two coffee mugs of water a day, and easily got tired, her head pounding. It pained the rest of the family to see Ariana that way.

"There were bad days. There was one day that was really bad, and we had gotten home and our neighbors came over with baskets of things we would need. Very thoughtful," Sue Kershenbaum said with tears in her eyes. "We're lucky for having such great neighbors."

Ariana would need a transplant but, one by one, her family members were ruled out as matches. She would have to take her chances with the donor list.

In August 2006, a donor kidney became available. She was lucky. More than 101,500 people are waiting for organ transplants.

The family only knows the donor was a healthy young adult who died about that time. Confidentiality laws prevent identification.

"I do wonder," Ariana said.

Sue Kershenbaum said Ariana seemed herself almost immediately after the transplant. Ten days after coming home, she was hanging out of a tree in her front yard.

"She can do just about anything she wants to ... no touch football," her mother said, laughing.

Three years later, she is having stage jitters as she gets ready for Saturday's performance at the historic concert hall.

Robert Redford's son, James, started the Share the Beat concert six years ago after receiving his own lifesaving liver transplant more than a decade ago.

Even with the star-studded list of celebrities expected at the benefit - there are rumors Robert Redford will be there - Ariana is most excited about meeting conductor John Williams, who composed famous scores from the "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones" and "Harry Potter" films.

She has been practicing with her sisters in the family room, which is littered with stringed instruments on their stands, a piano, speaker and instrument cases. There's even a set of bagpipes their mother plays.

Ariana plays the piano, mandolin, violin, ukulele and guitar. She has written her own songs and is starting to learn the banjo and wants to try the saxophone as well.

While excited about the stars, the 11-year-old is more focused on the cause.

The entire family is dedicated to spreading the word about the importance of organ donations. The close-knit family is not sure what they would have done if Ariana hadn't gotten better.

Ayelet said there's sometimes a negative connotation surrounding organ donation. Some people think doctors will not fight as hard to save their life if they are a donor, while others see it as a jinx.

"But it's the gift of life," the 18-year-old said. "I know it sounds cliché, but it truly is."

BOX

Share the Beat

What: Benefit for transplant awareness and organ donation

When: Saturday, 8 p.m.

Where: Symphony Hall, Boston

Info: www.sharethebeat.org

Photos