Hello all, it’s been a while since my last update on sweet Cyla, thank you for sticking by her and our family through this post-transplant journey. While there have still been things that Cyla is relearning about her body, overall Cyla has made huge strides since September.

Since the last update, Cyla has had one bout of rejection which landed her back in the hospital for a little over a week. To clarify what rejection is in a transplant patient, this is when the body essentially fights off the new organ because it sees it as a foreign object. This is why she is on so many medications to keep her immune system suppressed enough to not fight off the new liver. Unfortunately for her during this time, her body wasn’t cooperative. In order to determine what was going on with the liver she had to undergo a surgery for a biopsy of the liver to test it. That is how they determined that it was for sure rejection and not just the liver having a virus. It was so scary to hear that word because it takes you back to the feelings of her becoming so sick again. The doctors reassured me multiple times that it happens and they had control of the situation.

Cyla also was so scared and nervous because for her this was the first time she was conscious and aware while going into surgery. When she had her tranplant she was so sick that she was not awake and was literally fighting to stay alive. She handled this surgery like a true rockstar, once again showing me her incredible strength and determination.

Since then she has been doing pretty well and has hit some major milestones! Her labs look good, her mobility is great, she passed her driving test and got her license (which gives her a sense of normality and independence). She is able to attend the gym and started working again. She finished her sophomore year a little early and is enrolled in LCCC next year where she will finish her high school degree as well as earning college credits.

Although she has so many positives she still struggles with the emotional end of things and the trauma of the transplant and hospital stay. There are a lot of little changes that she is trying her best to manage. We are staying on top of her mental and physical health and managing it closely. Cyla was going into the doctors every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but has been decreased to once a month Monday labs, every Tuesday appointments, once a month Friday and every 3 months going downtown. Her doctors visits have been able to be spread a little farther out but she still has way more than the normal 16 year old kid and she continues to push through.

Thank you for following Cyla on this journey to health and happiness. She is working so hard and we are so incredibly thankful for the continued support for our girl. She is such a fighter and so incredibly strong!