When he was 8 months old, Shawn-Brooklyn contracted bacterial meningitis, an inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and the spinal cord. Three days after he was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at his local hospital, his kidneys failed and he needed dialysis. Since UI Stead Family Children's Hospital is the only facility in Iowa that offers pediatric dialysis, he came to UI Stead Family Children's Hospital.