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Brooke Wallace (with her aunt and liver donor Jessica holding her, and mom, Jennifer) is an example of the effectiveness of
Brooke Wallace (center, with mom, Jennifer) received a portion of her aunt Jessica's liver. 'Other children are not |
Jennifer Wallace considers her sister-in-law to be her toddler's second mother.
"I gave birth to her," Wallace said, "but Jessica gave her a second chance at life."
Jessica Wallace, 31, donated a portion of her liver to her niece, who recently turned 1, in the fall.
Brooke was born with biliary atresia, a rare newborn liver disorder. Without a new liver, she likely wouldn't have lived past age 2.
The Orange County family knows Brooke got lucky.
"Other children are not so fortunate and have to wait for a cadaver liver to come available, which in some cases is too late," Wallace wrote in an e-mail. "That is why we need more people to sign up to be organ donors."
April is National Donate Life Month. The Wallaces hope that by sharing Brooke's story, they can encourage others to become organ donors.
The need is great.
An average of three Virginians die each week while waiting for an organ transplant, according to save7lives .org, a Web site put together by organ procurement organizations, eye banks and transplant centers.
More than 2,000 people in Virginia are currently on a waiting list for a transplant, the Web site reported.
This includes a King George County infant, Sophie Grace Nelson. Ted and Holly Nelson's 7-month-old daughter was born with many birth defects, including biliary atresia. She is on the waiting list for a liver transplant. More information is available at sophiegrace.org.
Brooke was briefly on the list, too, until Jessica Wallace was found to be a good living donor match.
'I WASN'T SCARED'
Good donor matches typically have compatible blood types, among other factors.
Jessica Wallace underwent several tests to make sure she was physically and mentally healthy enough to donate.
Once cleared, she didn't hesitate to have the surgery.
"It was weird," she said, "I wasn't scared or nervous at all."
Living donors may give a kidney, a lobe of a lung, and a portion of their liver, pancreas or intestine, according to donatelife.net, the Web site of Donate Life America. The national organization was started by transplant groups to promote organ donation.
Brooke was only 7 months old when her transplant surgery was performed at Georgetown University Hospital on Oct. 9.
Living donor transplants are relatively rare.
Doctors at Georgetown performed 11 living donor liver transplants
About 90 percent of transplants there are performed with organs from deceased donors, said Dr. Thomas Fishbein, director of the pediatric liver transplant program at Georgetown.
However, he said, the number of living donor transplants is increasing and expanding to include neighbors and church members.
These increased donations can only help.
About 10 percent of children waiting for new livers at Georgetown die before getting transplants, Fishbein said.
"We are trying to eliminate [these deaths] completely," he said.
Living donors commit to major surgery.
Jessica Wallace was in the hospital for four days and spent two weeks recuperating. Her liver regenerated within two weeks and regained normal function.
She feels completely healthy, she said. The only remnant of her surgery is a 6-inch-long j-shaped scar on her abdomen.
Jennifer Wallace saw an immediate improvement in Brooke after the surgery.
"She had been very yellow," Wallace said. "In an instant, she turned pink."
After three weeks, she was sent home.
Although the transplant was a success, Brooke's battle isn't over.
She has had two hospital stays at Georgetown, in November and December, because her body was rejecting the new liver. She will need to take anti-rejection medication for the rest of her life.
The medication suppresses her immune system,
The Wallaces' insurance has covered most of the cost for Brooke's surgeries and medications. They have set up the Brooke Wallace Trust Fund through BB&T to help cover out-of-pocket expenses such as travel.
Friends and family have organized fundraisers, including a golf tournament held at Meadows Farms Golf Course in October and a benefit dance at Robinson's Tavern and Grill in Locust Grove.
A student at Orange County High School is also collecting donations this month in honor of National Donate Life Month.
Another benefit golf tournament and fundraiser at Robinson's are planned for this summer, Jennifer Wallace said. For more information, go to brookemariewal
HOW IS BROOKE NOW?
Brooke now shows little sign of her once life-threatening condition. She is tiny, weighing only 18 pounds or so, but she is walking and babbling like a typical 1-year-old. Doctors have said her development is only slightly delayed, Jennifer Wallace said.
Children with successful liver transplants can live a long and healthy life, Fishbein said.
After months of uncertainty, life is returning to normal in the Wallace household.
The 14 medications Brooke was taking have been whittled to four. The visits to Georgetown have gone from weekly to every other week.
The Wallaces and their two older children, Chelsie, 12, and Dustin, 9, are just enjoying being together.
"Right now we just take one day at a time and thank God and Jessica that Brooke is here," she said. "She is a blessing."
Kim Baer: 540/834-0656
Email: kbaer@freelancestar.com
| Sign up online at save7 lives.org or at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles when you apply for or renew your driver's license.
Virginia does not require family consent to carry out your wishes to be an organ, eye or tissue donor. However, keeping everyone informed will help avoid any confusion. A family notification card is available to print or e-mail at donate life.net. --donatelife.net |
| Almost 100,000 men, women and children currently need life-saving organ transplants.
Every 12 minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list. An average of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs for transplant. Ninety percent of Americans say they support donation, but only 30 percent know the essential steps to take to be a donor. --donatelife.net. |
