Trey was born on December 12th, 2005 in Lincoln, Nebraska. He has two older sisters (ages 5 and 3) who love to make him laugh and smile.

In the hospital everything went smooth and Trey was born via c-section, 11 days before his due date and weighed 9.8 lbs. He was slightly jaundiced (as were his sisters) but the Doctors put him under the lights and his bilirubin numbers slowly dropped. After a couple of days we were able to go home with Trey being wrapped in a wallaby blanket for three days to finish getting rid of the excessive bilirubin.

On his first follow-up with the pediatrician we began to see some concerning issues. Trey had not gained any weight during that week and the yellowish coloring had returned to his skin. The Dr. drew some blood and it was determined that his bilirubin levels had become elevated. We spent the next two weeks monitoring his weight and watching the bilirubin level in hopes it would correct itself. When it did not, our pediatrician referred us onto Children’s Hospital in Omaha for more tests.

On Monday January 23rd we were scheduled for a day of testing at the hospital. They did an ultrasound to get a look at his internal organs and a scan of his blood to determine if a dye would pass through his system. The tests that day were largely inconclusive and they asked us to return the next day for more.

By noon the following day the dye still had not passed through Trey’s liver and we were immediately referred to a pediatric surgeon for consultation. Within a couple of hours we met with the Doctor and he had given us a preliminary diagnosis of a fatal liver disease called Biliary Atresia. “BA” affects only about 1 in 15,000 babies and usually requires a liver transplant within the first two years of life.

The doctor said the one possibility to avoid, or maybe prolong, the need for a liver transplant was to perform a Kasai Procedure. Most Kasai Procedures are unsuccessful, in fact only 1 in 5 are successful, but the benefits were high enough that it was worth the risk of surgery. The surgery was scheduled for three days later on Friday January 27th, just four days after being referred to Children’s!

Friday arrived and just six weeks old Trey went into surgery while mom, dad and a gathering of family anxiously awaited the results in the lobby. Around four hours later the Doctor called to tell us that Trey had come through the surgery with flying colors and that now only time would tell how successful it would be. He also told us that during the surgery he was able to confirm that Treys gall bladder had never developed and was removed along with the biliary tree.

For the remainder of that week, and all of the following, we waited anxiously to see if Trey would be one of the 20% whose Kasais were successful. Unfortunately he was not. After three weeks the Kasai was ruled unsuccessful and we were referred onto the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Lied Transplant Center to begin preparations for a liver transplant. So far we have had three meetings with UNMC and the process for a transplant has begun.

It has been determined by the Doctors at UNMC that Trey will require a new liver in the next six months – or before – depending on the results of his weekly blood tests and his weight gain.

On April 6, 2006 Trey was moved to the ACTIVE list for liver transplants. This means that, at any time, a liver may become available and we will have four hours to get to UNMC for surgery.

On June 12th, 2006 we received word from UNMC that Trey’s aunt Christa was a match and that the transplant would be scheduled July 6th.

July 6th arrived and we were informed that Trey’s surgery was being postponed by 24 hours so, on July 7, 2006 Trey and Christa went into surgery about 8:45 and came out around 3:15. Neither had any serious complications and both recovered well in at UNMC.

On July 26th, 2006 Trey was released from the hospital, Christa had been released a week earlier, and we returned home to Lincoln. To date, we are doing well and have had no complications or setbacks but they tell us that they will happen and to prepare ourselves for when they do.