Alice the Brave for SickKids!
Alice was first brough to SickKids at 4 days old when she appeared jaundice. Even having never been to SickKids, we knew from its world renowned reputation that this was where we wanted to bring our new baby to have her checked out.
Fast forward two months later, and Alice was undergoing emergency, life-saving surgery under the care and diagnosis of Dr. Vicky Ng. It was determined Alice was born with an incurable liver disease called Biliary Atresia, which affects 1 in 18,000 babies. If left undetected or untreated, babies born with BA will not survive past their second birthday.
Alice did exceptionally well after her Kasai surgery, which are only 30% successful. She has been thriving since the decade since her surgery, with a few inevitable complications and bumps in the road along the way. We take great comfort in knowing SickKids is there whenever we need them, and are always just a phone call away. Dr. Ng and her team in the GI/Liver Clinic continue to follow Alice closely, and we are back to SickKids every few months to monitor her liver function and overall health and development.
Alice will require a liver transplant (as 90% of BA patients do), and given her current status, Dr. Ng suspects it will be while under SickKids care (before she turns 18).
We are fundraising directly for Dr. Ng including her Biliary Atresia research and liver transplant program priorities. In this way, we can support the advancement of BA research and treatment, benefitting families who face this diagnosis in the future, and perhaps even Alice in her lifetime. Not enough is known about this disease, and we hope that by doing our part, we can help Dr. Ng and her team change the outcome for as many families as possible.
Thank you so much for joining us in our ambitious goal!
If you would like to read more about Dr. Ng and the Liver Transplant team, please visit the below:
http://www.sickkids.ca/TRMC/patients-families/Liver-Transplant-Program/index.html
http://www.sickkids.ca/AboutSickKids/Directory/People/N/vicky-ng.html
