Our Story
With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, plus a lifetime of medical expenses, transplant patients are unable to shoulder the financial burden on their own. The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for children like Stanley Gleason-Allured. Born in January 2016, Stanley was diagnosed with biliary atresia at 10 weeks old, and he received a life-saving...
Continue Reading »Updates
Rare Disease Day Update
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In honor of Rare Disease Day (February 28), here’s a long overdue update on Stanley, whose many health issues stem from his initial diagnosis with the rare liver... Continue Reading »
We Made It Through Another Year!
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Today marks the second anniversary of Stanley’s liver transplant. Looking back at photos of Stanley from 2016, it’s hard to believe the baby in those pictures is the... Continue Reading »
A Letter to Stanley’s Donor Family on the First Anniversary of His Liver Transplant
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Left: Stanley right before he went into surgery. Right: Stanley this morning. Today is Stanley's first liverversary, and we wanted to share the letter we sent to his... Continue Reading »
Nothing Here Is Promised
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“Nothing here is promised, not one day.” — Lin-Manuel Miranda It was a Tuesday. I don’t remember anything about the weather, though I suppose it wasn’t raining or... Continue Reading »
What’s Water?
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Stanley on Thanksgiving Eve, Four Months Post-Transplant There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way,... Continue Reading »
Alice in Wonderland and Dreaming about Stanley
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There is a scene in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland where Alice tumbles down the rabbit hole. At first she’s scared. Then, realizing the rabbit hole plunges down and... Continue Reading »
Dear Stanley
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It’s the morning of day twenty-two post-op. That means that twenty-two days ago, sometime in the predawn darkness of Sunday, the doctors came into the overly bright waiting... Continue Reading »
Setbacks and Staying Strong
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At 5:00 a.m. this morning, I received the following text from Jeb: “Stanley has to be reintubated. His chest congestion is back along with intermittent fever.” I immediately started... Continue Reading »
Another Step Closer to Going Home
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It's been 10 days since Stanley's liver transplant and two days since the surgery to close his abdomen. Today he was finally extubated and the bandage was removed from... Continue Reading »