Adriana G.

Biliary Atresia

Adriana’s story starts off at 4 days old, I had noticed that Adriana started turning bright yellow. We took her into our local ER, they had ultimately told us that she was completely normal.

However, I knew that Adriana was not okay. I fought for several hours with the hospital until they referred us to a GI doctor.

Adriana’s first procedure was at 15 days old, a liver biopsy. She was still so tiny and the results were inconclusive.

At 41 days old we were sent to a children’s hospital where she underwent a cholangiogram that resulted in her being officially diagnosed with Biliary Atresia and received her Kasai procedure on January 17, 2019.

Shortly after surgery I noticed that Adriana was not gaining weight, she looked more and more yellow as the days went on, and her belly kept getting bigger. For months she had fevers we couldn’t explain.

In April of 2019, we were referred to her transplant center. We did all tests and evaluations and Adriana was ultimately placed on the liver transplant waiting list by May. After evaluations, we didn’t know what to expect, but we knew we were in for a long tiresome road.

In June 2019, Adriana had her first internal bleed, another procedure, and more anesthesia. At this point, we had held on to all hope and prayed for our warrior.

By August 2019, we still had not received an offer until one day we received a call that they found a perfect living donor match!

Adriana received  her second chance at life on August 28, 2019 by a family friend of mine.

Since transplant, Adriana has battled a few “common” colds and a couple hospital visits. She also received a hip surgery for hip dysplasia. She just started walking a little over a month ago. She also has some developmental delays that we are currently working on with therapies.

Overall, Adriana is doing well, we still have a few complications here and there, we also have slightly elevated liver numbers. At 1.5 years old Adriana is a very strong willed little girl who makes a room feel full of love and strength. She has more determination than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. Adriana is a happy little girl who will never let anything hold her back.

Even on your toughest days, just know that you are stronger than you may believe. This journey is hard and nerve wracking, but never give up hope and strength.