COTA for Team Seth U

Our Story

Seth Howard was a normal 16-year-old kid after having a difficult transplant journey with numerous surgeries and complications in 2013. In November 2022, the scar tissue on Seth’s hepatic artery became clogged and shut down flow from his liver. The lack of flow caused his liver to get sick and formed a pocket of infection. While we had hoped that the liver abscess would recover (through placing drains and an antibiotic regime), Seth ultimateley required a 4th liver transplant. The wait was long and he was very sick by the end, but on July 11th we found out that there was a perfect match for Seth. Because of his multiple transplants he needed a very specific antibody match, to prevent his body from rejecting the new organ. This donor had a near perfect anibody make-up for Seth. The surgey was long and difficult – the most difficult in his tranplant surgeon’s long career- but Seth made it through and blew through all of his milestones. We were permitted to head back to Montana at the end of August. We are adjusting to life back in Montana, with heavy immune-suppression, and catching up after 9 months away from home. Seth handled this situation with strength, grace, and grit and is working hard to get strong again. We appreciate all of the good thoughts and prayers for Seth during this long and difficul journey and, of course, your contributions to COTA in honor of Seth. COTA was instrumental in helping us shoulder the expenses of his first set of transplants in 2013 and we appreciate the opportunity to renew our fundraising efforts with COTA this time around. COTA funds helped us with various transplant-related expenses, such as the costs that my insurance won’t cover as well as housing while we waited in Denver.

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.