We recently filmed a Public Service Announcement for the Alexa’s Hope #GivetoLive Challenge, where we brought together a few families who have been personally impacted by someone’s decision to donate life.
The Alexa’s Hope team spoke with Paityn and her parents, Angie and Jason to hear about their experience.
Paityn’s Diagnosis
Parents, Angie and Jason, were concerned when at two months old, Paityn was still very jaundice. After a trip to the hospital, it was apparent that her liver was not functioning the way that it should be. Tests were done, and Paityn was diagnosed with a rare liver disease called Biliary Atresia.
Biliary Atresia is a disease where the bile ducts that are responsible for draining bile form the liver are either blocked or absent. There is no cure, but there is a procedure that can be done to postpone or stop the need for a transplant. However, Paityn’s procedure was unsuccessful, and she was in need of a liver transplant.
Put on the List
On December 12, 2008, Paityn was put on the waiting list for a new liver. After being in and out of hospitals, the family received the call that a liver had been found. Paityn received her first liver transplant on August 9, 2009.
Unfortunately, there were complications with her transplant. Just five days after the surgery, Paityn’s liver began clotting off, and she had emergency surgery to open up two of the main arteries and veins in her liver.
Paityn needed another transplant and was immediately placed at the top of the list. Doctors were estimating that she needed a new liver in the next 24-48 hours. At this point, Paityn’s parents were unsure if she would make until another liver would be available.
The very next day, a liver was available from New York. On August 16, she had her second liver transplant. This surgery, unlike the first, was a success.
Paityn and her family are very grateful for her recovery and the generosity of both of her donors and their families. Someone else’s choice to #DonateLife gave Paityn the chance to be a kid, visit Disney World and be a big sister.
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