Chloe Ann Chapman, born on February 13, 2013 at 4:04 am, now 4 years old she has had a roller coaster of a life. As her father, I am truly amazed at her ability to handle all of the obstacles life has thrown her direction. Chloe, you see, was born like most children, on time and outwardly normal. Chloe is the fourth child of Eric and Tricia, the only girl of the bunch. 16
or so hours after Chloe was born everyone involved with Chloe would see their life altered, likely forever. Chloe was initially diagnosed with atresia; the small intestine was not connected
with the large intestine. A simple exploratory surgery was scheduled for the next day to reconnect the pieces, while not a common surgery, risks associated with the connection were
minimal. Dr. Kokoska visited Tricia and I in the operating waiting room to give us the news that Chloe’s atresia was much more and he laid the groundwork for what is now our very long
and winding road in life when he diagnosed Chloe with Short Bowel Syndrome. Chloe has very little intestine meaning she can’t absorb nutrients like a normal person, her survival in life is
dependent on a central line that pumps her liquid nutrients 20 hours a day.

Chloe has battled many ups and downs in her lifetime, the most significant was probably the first transplant followed by the removal of the graft due to rejection. Where do we go from
here? The obvious answer is transplant again, although this time Dr. Mangus will only do a multi-visceral transplant. When Chloe left Riley in January of 2016 she could barely walk, she
wouldn’t’ talk, and she looked like a fragile stick. Today, Chloe looks like a normal 4-year-old kid, full of spunk and energy. She loves to play with her Barbie dolls, watch Kids YouTube, and
mold things out of Play-Doh. Absolutely the most painful feeling in the world is knowing Chloe must go through another transplant but Tricia and I know that sustaining any quality of life
dependent on TPN is just not viable. Chloe will succeed because she is a strong individual, stubborn in her own way. She has bounced back and fought off anything
medically challenging so far. Chloe will succeed because her support staff is second to none, her family and friends have gone beyond the call of duty. The love and support she has in
my mind is unmatched. Chloe could get the call for transplant anytime, 5 minutes from now or a year from now……. all I know is that Team Chloe will be ready!

With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, many transplant families are unable to shoulder the financial burden ofsuch a procedure. The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding
communities in raising funds for transplant-related expenses. 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.