It all started back when my mom was pregnant with me. Part way through, she went in for a routine ultrasound which showed that my bladder was enlarged. After further examination doctors discovered it wasn’t draining properly so I underwent two surgeries well in -utero called (“Bladder Taps “). The doctors also thought I had an obstruction of some kind and believed it was a relatively mild problem. I was then born 5 1⁄2 weeks early on Valentine’s Day in 1997 in a small town in Ontario. I weighed 4 pounds ,12 ounces and within 24hrs I was rushed to Sick Kids in Toronto. I wasn’t even 2 days old when I had my first major surgery to attempt to repair my twisted bowel. Then, immediately following that surgery my appendix ruptured and had to be removed.
After three more surgeries in just two months to look for bowel obstructions, I was diagnosed with Megacystis-microcolon-intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome (MMIHS) which basically means I have a large bladder and intestines that didn’t work. I spent the next 5 months in Toronto and was fed completely intravenously. I started TPN (Total Parenteral nutrition) which kept me alive but at a price. Within a couple months it started to destroy my liver and my pancreas. At the time my family already knew that I needed a bowel transplant but thanks to the TPN I now also needed a new pancreas and liver. In May my mom was told that my only hope was a multi organ transplant and I was placed on the transplant list.
Luckily on August 6th, 1997 my family got the call that there was a match for me, so at 5months and 24 days I was transported to London Children’s hospital in Western Ontario where I received a stomach, pancreas, liver, and bowel transplant. The transplant that I had was the first pediatric multi- organ transplant in Canada and the youngest in the world. For that I hold a Guinness world record. I stayed in London until December 1st. When I came home for the first time, I was 10 months old.
Today I live a fairly normal life as a young adult. Thanks to my transplant I have been able to do so many things that I know I wouldn’t have been able to do like become a big sister, graduate college, travel the world, spend time with family and friends, raise awareness about organ donation and also meet many others who have MMIHS.
