“When it’s pouring rain,” said a nurse after reading Isabella Tutsch’s hospital medical chart more than two years ago.
“But then there are the rainbows,” the three-year-old replied.
Isabella, Izzy for short, was at the beginning of a medical journey that would see her face a series of lengthy operations before undergoing a life-saving liver transplant at Sick Kids Hospital as part of her pediatric liver transplant program. .
The Sick Kids Program, the nation’s largest pediatric liver transplant program, has performed more than 680 life-saving liver transplants in children across Canada since 1986. The hospital has performed 233 living donor transplants since they were introduced into 1996, and Izzy’s journey continues to count. like one.
When Elizabeth Tutsch was pregnant with Izzy, a 30-week ultrasound showed a cyst outside of Izzy’s liver.
Doctors monitored the cyst for the rest of the pregnancy and then until her daughter was three years old.
To minimize disruption to Izzy’s future, her parents decided to remove the choledochal cyst laparoscopically in December 2019 in what was to be a relatively simple surgery.
A few days later, when Izzy was to be discharged, it was obvious that something was wrong and she was readmitted.
“She wasn’t herself,” her mother said. “We just saw it deteriorate.”
Izzy became septic, the body’s extreme response to infection, eight days after the cyst near her liver was removed. Because of this, he had to endure another surgery that lasted more than five hours.
For the next several years, Izzy was closely watched by her family and doctors. There were times when his mother and father, Tim, thought he was better. There were also periods, such as April 2020 and July 2021, in which she spent days in the Sick Kids hospital, ill.
“If you told her at the time that we had to go back to the hospital, she was delighted,” Tim said.
“I knew it was a safe place for her and I knew it made her feel better,” Elizabeth added.
In August 2021, the day after her fifth birthday, with end-stage liver disease, she was placed on the list for a liver transplant.
Instead of waiting for a deceased donor, her parents immediately checked to see if they could give her a portion of her liver. Neither was a match.
Without the transplant, Izzy was not expected to make it to Christmas.
“Our land was shattered,” Elizabeth said.
The couple reached out to their community for help.
“We tried to see if we could find a liver for our baby,” Elizabeth said.
Karen Coristine, a neighbor and mother of three daughters who go to school with the Tutsche daughters, applied right away and turned out to be a match.
“There is no other word for her than ‘angel,'” Elizabeth said. She did not hesitate. It’s a great sacrifice. ”
The transplant surgery was performed in October of this year.
“It’s a miracle,” her mother said. “She is doing so well.”
Izzy is an energetic and energetic girl with remarkable maturity and a warrior spirit. She is wise, goal oriented, and loves a challenge.
As the third of four children, she also loves inserting her voice and keeping up with her siblings, her parents say.
To help give back to Sick Kids, where Izzy was treated, and raise awareness about organ donation, the Tutsches have started a fundraiser called “Team Izzy”Where they have already raised more than $ 178,000 for the transplant program in two weeks.
For Izzy, the greatest gift has been her living donor.
“I realized that ‘Karen’ sounds like ‘taking care’ of someone,” he said.
Torstar, Star’s parent company, is participating in an educational and fundraising campaign. camaraderie with the Hospital for Sick Children. Jordan Bitove, editor and co-owner of the Toronto Star, is a member of the board of directors of the Sick Kids Foundation.
Reference-www.thestar.com