Hudson is an 11-month-old Santa Barbara boy who was born with significant damage to both of his kidneys.

When he was born, he spent two months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and his life is full of routine shots, medicine, blood draws, and doctor visits. 

He will be on dialysis until he is able to get a kidney transplant, ideally next year.

Hudson’s parents, Jamie and Andrew Nash, this week took their son’s story to Washington, D.C., where they met President Trump, and advocated for better health care. 

“Kidney care is very dear to our hearts,” said Jamie Nash. “This is a disease Hudson will have to deal with his entire life, never going more than three months without a blood draw and multiple medicines twice a day forever.

Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington.

The order aims to overhaul kidney disease care, to provide people with a chance at earlier transplants and home treatments.

Trump’s order also aims to find more available organs from the deceased, and grants reimbursements for extra expenses associated with organ donation, such as lost wages and child care.

“Our family is hopeful that today’s executive order will raise awareness, drive kidney care innovation, increase access to transplantation, and provide much better care and treatment for Hudson and the millions and millions of Americans living with kidney disease,” Nash said. 

More than 37 million people in America suffer from some form of kidney disease. 

“Thank you for the commitment you have made today to improve the lives of everyone affected by kidney disease, including our Hudson,” Nash said. 

They described Hudson as “beautiful” and gave him a brief kiss during the ceremony. 

“Roughly 100,000 Americans are currently awaiting a kidney donation,” Trump said. “Every day, 10 of our fellow citizens die waiting.  Many, many people are dying while they wait.”

Kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States.

— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.