Cody Reynolds
Recipient Family or Friend
Just days following the September 3 transplant, Elaina Reynolds was wearing bright yellow crocs and walking laps in the hospital corridor, greeting all of the hospital staff. Elaina's journey began soon after she was born two months premature in August 2019. She was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, a condition in which the bile ducts are scarred and blocked. The only long-term solution was a liver transplant.
A few days after the diagnosis, Elaina underwent a surgery called a Kasai Procedure to help delay the need for a liver transplant. Elaina was listed for transplant in July 2020 and remained on the list for about 400 days before the perfect liver was matched. Twice, Elaina and her parents were transported by the Kangaroo Crew, a Texas Children's Hospital med flight crew that transports critically ill babies and children. The day that her fourth offer came, Elaina's parents were busy at work when they received a call that a liver fit for her was available and the medical team was going to accept the offer. Elaina will celebrate her one year transplant anniversary in September.
"If there is one thing that we could share with our donor family it would be thank you." "Because of your child's beautiful gift we get to not only share Elaina's story but the story of how a donor gave her a second chance." "Elaina is somebody, but part of Elaina is somebody else."
