Thank you for taking a moment to learn about Harper’s journey. Meet Harper Reign Cooper-McClendon! Born May 11th, 2022, she appeared to be a healthy baby. At only 4 pounds 14 ounces, she was small but mighty. After two days in the hospital, we took her home to start our next adventure as new parents. 

Our journey began when we went to her first check up and mentioned that she was still jaundiced. Our pediatrician ran a test and stated that she would let us know if there was anything to be worried about. The next day, we got an urgent call from Harper’s pediatrician saying that her bilirubin, or liver function, results were not in the normal range, and we were scheduled for an emergency appointment at Children’s Hospital Colorado. 

After many tests, ultrasounds, and a liver biopsy, we found out that Harper has unexplained Cholestasis (a rare form of liver disease) which causes cirrhosis. Our doctors hoped that her disease would be managed by nutrition, vitamins and medications as some babies improve over time. We shared in that hope as the next month she gained weight at home and appeared to be normal. In the interim, doctors suggested that we do genetic testing to determine the cause of her illness. We waited for several weeks to learn that there is no explanation for her liver failure.

On the evening of July 12th, Harper was fussy, threw up everything she ate and had a fever. We took her to the ER where they later discovered that she developed SBP (Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis) and MSSA (Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus) which led to what is more commonly known as sepsis, or infection in the blood. Harper began her stint in the pediatric ICU where she was put on high doses of antibiotics and sedatives to fight her infection. Miraculously, after two weeks in the PICU, Harper cleared all signs of infection! She then needed to learn how to breathe and eat on her own. She was moved to the pre-transplant floor at Children’s. 

We are currently waiting for her to gain weight to be a better candidate for her life-saving liver transplant surgery. As we wait, we have fallen even more in love with her! She loves to stare into your eyes and has learned to smile! She already has a spunky, funny and determined personality. 

As you can probably tell, Harper is a fighter and we will continue on this journey to transplant and recovery. Thank you for taking a moment to learn a little about Harper. We are appreciative of any donations you can make to COTA in honor of Harper so they can assist us with transplant-related expenses, but more importantly, we ask for prayers for Harper. We are so thankful for nonprofits like COTA because they truly serve to help families like ours.

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.