Wyatt Houppert, 12, is honorary Suffolk County sheriff ahead of his lifesaving kidney transplant

In less than a week, Wyatt Houppert, 12, is getting a kidney transplant after his sole kidney started failing in February.

On Tuesday, over 50 members of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office saluted and clapped as Wyatt exited the office in Riverhead.

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. named Wyatt honorary sheriff for the day. While "sheriff," Wyatt sat on a police ATV and turned on the sirens in a police car. He smiled as he pet a K-9 dog.

In attendance was Wyatt’s kidney donor, Dawn Rice, who is the wife and sister of two Suffolk County correction officers. Devan Houppert, Wyatt’s mom, said he was over the moon with the sheriff's office's display of support.

"We want to make sure that we're there to support [Wyatt], especially since there's a connection with the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office family," Toulon said.

Toulon, who is serving his eighth year as the county sheriff, said this was the second time since he became sheriff that his office has done something like this.

Wyatt’s transplant surgery will be on Monday at NYU Langone’s Hassenfeld Children's Hospital in Manhattan.

In 2021, his mother took Wyatt to the hospital for what she thought was a bad stomach virus. Houppert, 40, of Hauppauge, then learned that her son was born with only one kidney because his second did not develop properly.

In February, she learned his sole kidney was failing. Wyatt started hemodialysis, a medical treatment for kidney failure that removes waste and excess fluids from the blood, and helps regulate a person’s blood pressure.

Since then, Wyatt has gotten lifesaving hemodialysis treatment three to four times a week, for four hours at a time. Wyatt has a catheter in his chest, his mom said, that has to be surgically removed and reinserted for his dialysis.

"Even just finding a dialysis center, we got turned down place after place all over the Island like it wasn't life or death, like we were [just] calling for a haircut," Houppert said. "Places were just telling us 'nope, we can't take your child.' So we were stuck in the hospital because he can't go without the hemodialysis, until a place said yes, finally."

His mother said Wyatt is also autistic and has developmental disabilities. 

She takes her son to a dialysis center in Bethpage, a 30- to 40-minute commute, on top of the hourslong dialysis treatments.

"We're just happy to never have to do dialysis again," she said.

Rice has two immediate family members, her father and brother, who had kidney failure. Rice said the sheriff’s office event was nice because she got to see Wyatt enjoy himself without worrying about dialysis.

Rice described Wyatt as a good kid and a funny person. She encouraged people to share their "spares," meaning to become kidney donors.

Houppert praised Rice as a selfless person and an angel.

Wyatt’s grandfather Randy Houppert also expressed his thanks.

"This gives him a fighting chance, and she’s giving him that chance," he said. "She's my hero."