After a month living at the Ronald McDonald House in Palo Alto and traveling to nearby Stanford Medical Center for routine check-ups following his Dec. 20 kidney transplant surgery, Turlock Christian middle schooler Jaxon Shaneyfelt and his family are back home. And similar to how the Turlock Christian campus community came together for a send-off on Dec. 18, hundreds filled the parking lot of Monte Vista Chapel on Monday to welcome him back to school.

“We are overjoyed to welcome him back into our school community,” said Principal Nineb Shahbaz.

Shaneyfelt, understandably, was also overjoyed.

“It is really nice to be back with my friends,” he said. “They have been there for me from the start. Helping me look for a kidney and praying for me and I am really happy to be back at school. Today was a nice surprise.”

The 14-year-old’s return to school brought a sense of normalcy that he hadn’t felt in more than a year. In December 2022, he was diagnosed with juvenile nephronophthisis — fibrosis that impairs kidney function and leads to life-threatening failure of kidney function. It wasn’t until this past November that doctors were able to match him with a living donor, 40-year-old Sarah Best of Sacramento.

Shaneyfelt’s kidney function is normal and his body has adjusted to medication, though he will still be under a doctor’s care.