Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
Maria has a rare genetic condition called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) which is a chronic liver disease caused by progressive inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts of the liver and ultimately ends in liver failure. She has been on a waiting list for a donated liver for several years now, and finally received her miracle life saving liver after 10 hours of surgery on Oct 20th, 2021. She had been preparing to go home on November 1st when she had an emergent setback. She had to have another emergency surgery where the transplant team at Johns Hopkins determined that her new liver was failing due to a clot in the hepatic artery which subsequently destroyed the blood supply to her new liver, allowing bile to leak into her bloodstream and rendering the new liver incapable of surviving. She was sedated and placed at the top of an emergency transplant list with only three days to survive without a new liver. Her brother Mike rushed back down from NY to comfort her and help Tony and the boys #herostatus (
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/herostatus?__eep__=6&__cft__%5b0%5d=AZX_O9WL9YAPt8rJKTs_SCJsGBji5LRA_9PshA7XlqleJf0niqQBMcAnrOAb5mggkccLNq5PwKkKd9FzUUC88bYzHKZ8sJcno4mvWhMQKi4SOQpHXcgAwrADc6uLXeUKxbg&__tn__=*NK-R).
Through the miracle workers at Johns Hopkins within 12 hours of her being listed, they found a potential donor in NJ. Due to complications with the NJ hospital's helipad, the staff DROVE to NJ, inspected and procured a new liver! Our words cannot convey the gratitude and relief given to us by this donor's sacrifice.
By 3am on Thursday, Maria was back out of the OR and into recovery. She has had some additional bleeding, infection concerns and blood transfusions and continues to be in the Surgical ICU for close monitoring. What we expected to be a two week hospital course has now become a longer ordeal with an uncertain end point. We are taking it moment by moment and trusting that God will continue to supply protection and strength to Maria, and wisdom and skill for her medical team.
As we navigate this long road, we are ever grateful for family and friends reaching out in support. Gabriel and Adam are coping well with the change in routine, but could use your prayers and support as well. We appreciate any contributions from errand-running to school pickups to items on an Amazon list:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/R338ORE4ZMD1?ref_=wl_share The link for a meal train (providing meals and gift cards to take-out) is here: Meal Train (
https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/mqnk97)
Maria continues to be a warrior woman, pushing through the hurdles and overcoming the fear of more setbacks. She is one amazing, wonderful, and tough-as-nails lady. We thank you for your love and support, and are truly humbled by your love and prayers.
