Lily's Story

Lily
Age 5

New Hampshire
Children’s Hospital Boston
Biliary Atresia-Liver Transplant

At first, Lily appeared to be a perfectly healthy newborn. But shortly after taking her home, her parents began to worry that she had jaundice. At just 6-weeks-old, the team at Children’s Hospital Boston diagnosed Lily with Biliary Atresia, a disease that prevents bile from leaving the liver and eventually results in scarring and cirrhosis.

Lily had abdominal surgery to help her liver, but she still needed to be placed on the liver transplant list. Doctors expressed concern that without a transplant, Lily wouldn’t make it to her second birthday.

At 19-months-old, Lily’s new liver arrived. The recovery from surgery wasn’t easy, but Lily walked laps in the hospital to visit other kids and made friends with the nursing staff, winning everyone over with her infectious personality.

Now 5, you would never know Lily had to fight to survive the first few years of her life. She spends her time doing her favorite things, including playing sports, helping her teacher, and singing along to music.