We’ll skip to the punchline!

It’s Lenny the Liver!

Well… it’s been a minute.

Somehow, in the middle of everything life has thrown at us, we realized we haven’t given everyone a proper update on Aidan — or Lenny the Liver — in quite some time.

And what a year it has been.

Lenny the Liver turned ONE.

One whole year since Aidan received his life-saving transplant and our family got to celebrate a milestone we once weren’t sure we would ever see.

Aidan moved up to 8th grade.

Next stop: HIGH SCHOOL. Somehow we went from hospital rooms and transplant lists to talking about high school. That still feels a little surreal.

And Aidan turned 14.

Fourteen! He continues to grow, learn, make us laugh, drive us slightly crazy, and generally be the amazing kid he has always been.

Of course, transplant life isn’t exactly a happily-ever-after where everyone walks off into the sunset.

There are still hospitalizations.

There are still blood draws.

There are still medications.

There are still appointments, monitoring, labs, and the constant awareness that we have to watch for anything that could knock Aidan off the incredible path he is on.

There are still insurmountable medical expenses ahead of us, but our pride in Aidan’s fight keeps us moving forward. More fundraising coming up!

He’s growing. He’s going to school. He’s turning 14. He’s making plans for high school. He’s doing the ordinary teenage things that, at one point, felt anything but ordinary.

But here’s the thing:

He is on that path. And he is moving forward.

And we are incredibly grateful.

For now, though, we wanted to finally say:

We’re still here.

Aidan is still fighting.

Lenny is officially ONE.

Thank you to everyone who has checked in, donated to COTA for Aidan’s Battle, shared our story, sent a message, prayed, cheered, laughed with us, cried with us, or simply remembered Aidan.

You helped get us here.

And we still have a road ahead.

#AidanStrong#LennyTheLiver#TransplantLife#OneYearLater#14AndThriving

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