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As our city currently struggles with the pandemic there is a little something that makes me smile and it is the thought of what a year can bring….. including the hope of what 2021 might eventually bring as well. ?

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In March 2020, as we went into lock down, it had been just 12 months previous that Team Alice was formed and we had our first meeting of volunteers with Lauren Wilmer of Children’s Organ Transplant Association (“COTA”) And through the following months, citizens of Yuma, non-profits and some of our local media celebrities opened their hearts to Alice and her search for a liver.  We were all determined to save this little Yuman!?

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And July of last year, Alice was nearing the top of the transplant list with no viable living donor and the clock ticking while her health spiraled downward.  Alice had also been declined for transplant at that juncture.  Last July, her family celebrated her first birthday with the knowledge that it might well be her last….but…here we are in 2020 and despite it all…Alice is turning 2 on the 9th of July!  ?

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With the dedicated efforts of Yumans raising funds, and the COTA team making the second opinion in another city viable, AND the amazing transplant team and staff at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital – Pediatric Liver Unit, everything turned around in September of 2019 when Alice’s family got “the call”.  Bittersweet the moment her life was saved with the passing of a donor angel.  The irony of the transplant being on Alice’s mom’s birthday is not lost on her –  Best.  Gift.  Ever. ?

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Alice is still in quarantine, more stringent than some of the rest of us, due to immunosuppression but we would like Team Alice and every Yuman to share in the celebration as Alice turns TWO! WE did it!  She made it! Grab a cupcake or some ice cream on July 9th and share a memory, or good wish, with Alice on our Facebook page.  If you are able, please consider a donation of $7 or $9 to defray transplant related expenses.?

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