Trinity’s Story: Strength, Courage, and Hope

Trinity is a bright and compassionate 17-year-old from McKinney, Texas. A true animal lover, she cares for 15 chickens and two cats, and her gentle spirit shines through in everything she does. She recently achieved a major milestone—graduating high school early—and has already begun her college journey. The youngest of three siblings, with a sister proudly serving in the U.S. Army and a brother in the Army National Guard.

For the past two years, Trinity has endured relentless abdominal pain, leading to multiple hospitalizations and a complex diagnosis. Even eating small amounts of food causes her debilitating pain. She lives with chronic, necrotizing pancreatitis and pancreas divisum, and genetic testing revealed that she carries the PRSS1 gene mutation, which gives her a 40% chance of developing pancreatic cancer. Necrotizing pancreatitis is a severe complication of acute pancreatitis where the pancreatic tissue dies due to inflammation, and can be life-threatening.

Because pediatric pancreatitis specialists are so rare, Trinity and her family had to travel the nearly 1,000 miles from their home to Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center in Ohio. After a thorough four-day evaluation, Trinity was approved for a life-changing procedure called Total Pancreatectomy with Islet Autotransplantation (TPIAT), scheduled for June 3. This complex surgery involves removing the pancreas, spleen, gallbladder, appendix, and part of the intestines. The islet cells from her pancreas will then be transplanted into her liver to help regulate blood sugar and reduce the likelihood of diabetes. She and her family will need to remain in Ohio for at least 6–8 weeks during her recovery.

Despite the pain and challenges, Trinity remains courageous and hopeful. She is determined to go through with this intense surgery in the hopes of returning to a pain-free life.

The cost of Trinity’s upcoming surgery—and the lifelong care that follows—is significant. From hospital stays and medications to diabetic supplies and travel expenses, the financial burden can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve partnered with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to raise funds to help with transplant-related expenses. Your support means everything. Every donation to COTA for Trinity, big or small, helps ease the financial burden to allow Trinity to focus on what matters most: healing and building the bright future she deserves.

Thank you for standing with Trinity and rallying around her journey through COTA.

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.