Gillian is a vibrant, funny, fiercely loving 17-year-old who has missed most of her junior year of high school and all of her senior year (so far) as she battles the debilitating pain of pediatric pancreatitis. In 2024 alone, she went through 29 ER visits, 11 hospital admissions, 6 procedures (ERCPs and/or endoscopic ultrasounds) and one major surgery (gallbladder removal). She experienced recurring abdominal pain, often to an excruciating degree, for many years before her official diagnosis.
On March 4, 2025, Gillian underwent a 17-hour surgery to remove her pancreas, spleen, appendix, and part of her bowel at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio. As she recovers from the Total Pancreatectomy with Islet Autotransplantation (TPIAT) surgery, she’ll spend at least a week in the ICU, plus 5 to 7 additional weeks recovering in the hospital and in the nearby Ronald McDonald House. Her mom, Michele, will be by her side every moment, which means missing work and being away from her other children for 2+ months. Gillian and Michele will have to fly back to Ohio for follow-up care every few months for the first year, then annually after that. She’ll also have the equivalent of type I diabetes, which has the potential of eventually resolving, since the surgery includes transplanting cells from her pancreas to her liver, which can result in the liver taking over insulin production.
Our beautiful Gillian lights up our lives every day. She loves spending time with family and friends, beating everyone at cards, cleaning and organizing, movies and music, and cuddling any baby she can get her hands on. She is a devoted and loving big sister, a beloved cousin and niece, a cherished daughter and granddaughter, and a faithful daughter of God who is being lifted by the prayers of her church community. She has an army of supporters praying for her and hoping to see her live a more normal life, free of the pain and physical limitations she has endured for so long.
Gillian’s recovery will be long and difficult, but we know she has the courage and strength to overcome this challenge, as she has so many others. We are grateful she is in excellent hands at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and we’re grateful that Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is here to help our family with transplant-related expenses like medications, diabetic supplies, insurance co-pays and premiums, and travel expenses from Utah to Ohio and back again.
We are indescribably grateful for all the love, support, and heartfelt prayers offered on our behalf, and for any donations offered to COTA in honor of Gillian. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law for you, and they won’t contribute to our family’s taxable income either. COTA charges no fees of any kind either and even covers credit-card processing fees, ensuring that 100% of each contribution goes directly to transplant-related expenses. Thank you for reading our story and for being part of our support network. It means more to us than we’ll ever be able to express.
The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.