Who needs a pancreas, spleen, gall bladder, or all of their duodenum? Not this girl! 👊🏻

My daughter and I spent 5 days at my niece Gillian’s bedside, witnessing her strength, grace, and will to fight. 

The recovery from this surgery is intense—a roller coaster of highs and lows. We were there for some scary moments and some triumphs.

But as awful as this looks, she generally feels better than she did while living with the debilitating pain of pediatric pancreatitis. 🥺

In the last 5 days, she got off her tube feeds and her pain pump, was able to leave her hospital floor for the first time in 2 weeks, and started managing her diabetes on her own (which she has as a result of the surgery, but it might not be permanent if her transplanted islet cells start working in their new home). 

She’s hoping to be discharged to the Ronald McDonald House by her birthday on Saturday, where she’ll continue her recovery until she’s cleared to fly home. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

If you’re inspired by Gillian’s story and would like to help, Children’s Organ Transplant Association is helping raise funds in her honor to assist with a lifetime of transplant-related expenses: 
cota.org/cotaforgillianstpiat/