Box Elder Deputy Treated For Second Liver Failure
Feb 20, 2019, 7:48 PM | Updated: 9:26 pm
BRIGHAM CITY, Utah – A deputy with the Box Elder County has been hospitalized and put on a donor waiting list after his second bout with liver failure.
Deputy Kelton Bronson was more accustomed to being out in the community and serving others, which is why being stuck at home has not been especially easy.
“I really love my job, so it’s hard to kind of watch from the sidelines,” Bronson said. “I’ll be excited for the day that I’m good to go, and I get to go back, and patrol the streets, and help others.”
Bronson was hospitalized recently after his liver started to fail. He first noticed pains in his upper legs, and then swelling.
He spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, but has since gone home. The deputy still deals with a number of medical problems stemming from the liver failure – like jaundice, and diabetes.
Nearly 30 years ago, he was the first boy in the US to receive a partial liver transplant. Now, a Box Elder County Deputy is in need of another liver. Hear how the community is supporting his family, on @KSL5TV at 5&6. pic.twitter.com/b35cYkSyay
— Mike Anderson (@mikeandersonKSL) February 20, 2019
Still, while Bronson said he’s at the top of the transplant list at University of Utah Hospital, there are others sicker than him around the country.
“As terrible as this feels, I know it for a fact. There’s plenty of other sick people out there,” Bronson said.
This wasn’t the first time Bronson has endured liver failure.
As a nine-month-old baby in 1990, he was the first boy in the nation to receive a liver transplant. At the time, he was able to receive part of his mother’s liver.
Kelton Bronson, around the time of his first liver transplant, with his mother, Yvonne Bronson.
“It was really new for the United States at that time,” Bronson said.
This time, he will need a whole new liver. In the meantime, Bronson and his family have not been enduring this hardship alone. They said friends, co-workers, family, and even strangers have stepped in to offer help – from finances to helping care for their two young sons.
“Just to have them do what they can to help me, that’s been a blessing,” Bronson said. “You don’t kind of think about it until you’re in need of it, and it’s been extraordinary.”
“We can’t wait until it’s our turn to be able to give back what we have received,” said Bronson’s wife, Kelsee Bronson. “Our time will come, and we can help those that need help.”
In addition to covering for his shift with the sheriff’s office, Bronson said his fellow deputies have been watching out for his family and offering moral support.
“I had one of the officers say, ‘It’s not just the officers in uniform that’s family. We’re all in this together,’” Kelsee said.
The Bronson family has an account set up at Box Elder Credit Union under the Kelton Bronson Transplant Medical Fund.
According to the family’s page on the National Foundation for Transplants website, the average liver transplant can cost around $740,000.
The family also has a GoFundMe page to help defray medical bills.
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
