She Donated A Part Of Her Liver To Her 8-Month-Old Son To Help Cure The Disease He Was Born With
Mission Viejo, California. Grant Butler is an adorable 8-month-old little boy living in Mission Viejo along with his parents Robyn and Dylan.
Sadly, Grant spent nearly the first half of his life in the hospital, as he was born with Biliary Atresia.
Biliary Atresia is a very rare disease that blocks bile ducts in a person’s body. Bile ducts move bile to the gallbladder from the liver, and when they’re blocked as they are with Biliary Atresia, it causes bile to get stuck in the liver.
Ultimately, this results in cirrhosis, and people diagnosed with Biliary Atresia almost always end up needing a liver transplant because of the severe damage done to their liver.
When Grant was only 3 months old, he had to have an emergency procedure called the Kasai Procedure.
With this special procedure, surgeons go in and bypass the blocked bile ducts by attaching the liver directly to the intestines.
While Grant underwent this surgery to hopefully save his liver and his life, he also had his gallbladder taken out.
GoFundMe; pictured above is Grant
“The procedure helped his liver drain fluid to his intestines and allowed him to survive until this point, but it’s not a permanent fix,” Grant’s dad Dylan wrote on a GoFundMe page.
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“Despite multiple hospital stays and spending almost half his first 8-months of life in the hospital, Grant is a strong, happy little scrapper who is kicking a** every day.”
“Grant’s smile lights up a room, and he’s always smiling. But Grant’s liver is cirrhotic, resulting in severe fluid buildup in his abdomen, known as Ascites as well as other life-threatening complications. The hard truth is that Grant needs a liver transplant as soon as possible.”
Grant’s mom Robyn volunteered to donate a piece of her liver to him so that Grant can be forever free of the disease that he has struggled with for his entire life.
GoFundMe; pictured above is Grant with his mom Robyn
This past weekend, Robyn and Grant underwent their surgeries and so far, things are going well for both of them, but the family still has challenges ahead.
“During Grant’s recovery, our house has to be free of any harmful bacteria, which means re-homing our dogs for three months,” Dylan continued.
“It also means Grant will be on immunosuppressants for the rest of his life, which brings with it a host of special considerations. Getting Grant the care he deserves requires extra love and attention. We want to provide him the best care possible, but we know it won’t be cheap.”
Dylan created a GoFundMe page to help cover Grant’s medical care and additional expenses, which you can donate to here if you would like to.
GoFundMe; pictured above is another photo of Grant
More About:Human Interest
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