COEUR d’ALENE — More than a decade ago, Nita Robson asked her community at Family Worship Center in Hayden to pray for her newborn grandson, Liam Sturgis, who was hospitalized due to chronic kidney disease. 

Those prayers were answered then — and again, years later. 

Liam survived that first health crisis. He’s grown into a bright, athletic boy who makes frequent visits to the offices of nephrologists in Spokane and Seattle. 

His parents, Daniel and Temper Sturgis, have known for years that he would need a kidney transplant one day, though they hoped he would be in his 20s when the time came, not 11 years old. 

“Even though you know it’s going to happen eventually, when they say that now is the time, there’s nothing that can prepare you for it,” Daniel Sturgis said Wednesday. “It hits you like a ton of bricks.” 

Liam is facing a kidney transplant in January. 

The donor? Steven Hemming, the pastor at Family Worship Center. 

“I believe that the Lord told me to check and see if I was a match,” Hemming told The Press. “If I was a match, that would be confirmation that I was supposed to do this.” 

Hemming proved to be a perfect match. 

The news came as an indescribable relief to Liam’s parents. 

“It’s a weight off your shoulders,” Daniel Sturgis said. “I can’t even put it into words.” 

Liam will be a sixth-grade student at Woodland Middle School in the fall. His dad said he gets good grades and loves baseball and golf. Some days, his dad said, he’s full of energy and can keep up with the other kids. Other days, he struggles. 

His disease has impacted more than his kidneys. Many children with chronic kidney disease also experience slowed growth and problems with their bones, including Liam. 

After the transplant, his family hopes those bad days will be behind him. 

“He’ll be stronger and faster and taller,” Daniel Sturgis said. 

In most kidney transplant cases, the surgeon leaves the damaged kidney inside the recipient’s body. Liam’s kidneys are so badly damaged, however, that they must be removed. 

“He’ll be 100% reliant on that new kidney,” his dad said. 

The transplant surgery will occur in Seattle. 

“He’s excited but he’s also very scared,” Daniel Sturgis said.  

Liam and his family will have to remain in the Seattle area for at least three months after the operation. The recovery timeline could be longer, depending on how Liam’s body reacts to the donated kidney. 

Liam’s parents are doing their best to reassure him ahead of the transplant. 

“We’ve put a really positive spin on it,” his dad said. “There’s a lot of scary stuff in the world for a kid. We don’t want to add to it.” 

To help cover the costs of travel, the Sturgis family is holding a fundraising dinner with raffles at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Eagles Lodge in downtown Coeur d’Alene. 

There’s no charge to attend the event, though donations are accepted for dinner. Prizes will be auctioned or raffled off, including a one-night stay at The Coeur d’Alene Resort, passes to local golf courses, a guided fishing trip, three guns and more. 

Hemming said his family supports his decision to donate a kidney to Liam. 

“It felt like a privilege to be able to give this little boy a chance at life,” he said. “You see that he has his whole future ahead of him. I believe that anybody would want to give a little boy the opportunity to live a full life.” 

The experience has presented an opportunity for Hemming to teach his children, ages 7 and 9, the importance of “living for something greater than yourself.” 

“Being a benefit to others is really what gives significance and purpose to life,” he said. 

Hemming said he sees donating his kidney as an expression of his faith and of the “selfless love of God” that gives life to others.

“When it comes down to it, God opened the door, gave confirmation and told me to do it, so I’m doing it,” he said.

    The Sturgis family — parents Daniel and Temper, as well as Liam, 11, and Jonah, 5 — will travel to Seattle in January so Liam can undergo a kidney transplant. Courtesy photo.