As some of you may know, in March of this year, Ron & Lexi’s 3-month-old son Reese was diagnosed with biliary atresia. Biliary atresia (BA) is a rare disease in infants in which the bile ducts outside and inside the liver are scarred and blocked. Bile can’t flow into the intestine, so bile builds up in the liver and damages it. The damage leads to scarring, loss of liver tissue and function, and cirrhosis.

On April 2, Reese underwent a Kasai Procedure which is a type of surgery to remove the diseased bile ducts to the base of the liver and re-establish bile flow from the liver. The surgery went smoothly and was successful. However, since having the procedure, Reese has been in and out of the hospital on multiple occasions due to damage to his liver.

Anytime Reese has a fever, Ron and Lexi are to drop everything and make the three-hour drive to Chicago to have bloodwork, an ultrasound and potentially a procedure to test the abdominal fluid for infection. They have spent weeks at a time in the hospital. Unfortunately, this will be the trajectory until Reese receives a liver transplant. 

By the grace of God, Ron is a match to donate a part of his liver for Reese. While we are grateful that Ron is a match, it makes the surgery a very quick reality.

Ron and Reese are to undergo liver transplant surgery in August in Chicago. Reese is expected to stay in the hospital for at least a month and then potentially stay in a hotel for a couple weeks after surgery. This creates an emotional and financial burden on Ron and Lexi. They will need support from their community, friends, family and strangers while they take on this enormous challenge.

Please consider donating to COTA for Reese’s Journey to help with a lifetime of transplant-related expenses that will be accumulated. Your contribution will go toward transplant-related expenses like Reese’s month-long hospital stay, hotel stay, weekly doctor’s visits, meals, household bills, and time off work for Ron and Lexi. All donations to COTA in honor of Reese, big or small, are greatly appreciated.

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.