Dylan is scheduled to receive her liver transplant today. There are so many things that need to fall into place for this to happen, and there are always reasons it may not proceed exactly as planned. But the liver appears to be a good match for her and an amazing team of experts has been bustling with preparations.

As you would expect, all types of emotions are running high. We are grateful because we know that Dylan needs this desperately. This will mark the beginning of a new life and a new reality for Dylan and her family, with new challenges ahead. It is frightening. And there is the profound grief for the donor and their family that bubbles up and has to be suppressed to be reckoned with another day. 

She will likely go into surgery sometime on Saturday afternoon. The surgery is long and incredibly complex. All liver transplants are, but Dylan’s case is unprecedented. Despite their exhaustive planning, her team will have to use their resourcefulness to figure out how to best address her case. Several of their decisions must be made during the surgery, which may last up to 24 hours.

Dylan’s liver will be removed, and they will try to also remove any other structures that have been invaded by the tumor. They expect to remove nearly all of the tumor, but they may have to leave some behind. While that is not ideal, it is neither malignant nor particularly fast-growing, and leaving in some tissue that is too risky to remove at this time is a prudent choice. The tumor is very “sticky” and difficult to separate from other tissues.

The additional structures they will need to remove include most or all of her pancreas, part of her stomach and small intestine, all the vessels going to and from the liver, portions of the vena cava and other neighboring vessels, and they may need also to do some reconstruction of the aorta.

The donor will provide the whole liver with its associated vessels. Some connections (such as vessels) may be grafted from Dylan’s own tissues or tissues from other donors. The plan for her pancreas will evolve depending on how much they can preserve.

Her team is rightfully confident in their abilities and experience, and they have also continually sought opinions from other top doctors. We know she is in the best hands.

Dylan has quite a few family members with her, and the arrival of her dad and her sister Jordyn has brought her much comfort.

This is surreal and difficult to describe. We are waiting, crying, hoping, praying. Dylan and her family feel the love and wishes that have been expressed by friends and strangers near and far. Your care is needed and it means more than you can know.

We will provide updates here as we can. Thank you for being with us.

Please consider donating to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association in Dylan’s name. 100% of each contribution to COTA for Dylan is available for her lifetime of transplant-related expenses.