New York’s Staten Island This year’s Thanksgiving will be especially meaningful for a Staten Island family because Florence Mojica, who turns 6 months old on December 5, received a life-saving liver transplant after her parents’ frantic search for a donor match sparked a community outpouring of support.
She was living in the hospital at that time because her health was deteriorating so quickly. According to her mother, Lina Mojica, Florence received a liver transplant three days after her uncle was determined to be her match.
Staten Islanders rallied on social media to spread the message and offer prayers after the Advance/SILive.com story about the family’s hunt for a donation was published on October 31. The newsroom got numerous inquiries from incredibly kind people who volunteered as potential matches.
However, the Mojica family found out that baby Florence was a match for her uncle, Stephen Mojica, on Monday, November 4.
The family spent two weeks after the procedure and one week prior to the transplant before departing the hospital earlier this week.
They felt comfortable sending us home because, aside from some discomfort, she has been doing well over the last few days, Lina added.
Florence s health journey
Florence, who was born at four months old with biliary atresia, a rare liver ailment, requires a liver transplant. (Thanks to Danielle Jean.)Jean Danielle
The family, who are originally from Staten Island but currently reside in New Jersey, was hoping to find a living donor match for baby Florence only last month.
Lina and Mike Mojica welcomed Florence and her twin brother into the world on June 5, 2024, at 38 weeks, at Monmouth Medical Center in New Jersey. After a few days, both babies were returned home after appearing healthy at first.
But as time went on, Florence’s condition deteriorated; her skin turned yellow and she became more uncomfortable. After being referred to Columbia University by a GI specialist, she had a liver biopsy, ultrasounds, and blood tests performed.
In the end, it was determined that she had biliary atresia, a rare liver condition.
The bile ducts, which are tubes inside and outside the liver, can become blocked and scarred in infants with biliary atresia, a potentially fatal illness, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These bile ducts transport bile from the liver to the small intestine for processing and to the gallbladder for storage.
When bile cannot pass through the intestines in newborns with biliary atresia, it accumulates in the liver, resulting in cirrhosis, scarring, and liver damage.
To remove the damaged bile ducts outside the liver, Florence had the Kasai surgery done in August. Even after a successful Kasai, the majority of infants with biliary atresia eventually need a liver transplant, according to the NIH.
For Florence, such was the case, but for her, a living donor was an option.
The liver is special because it can grow back to its full size from a little fragment. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a liver must be compatible with the recipient’s body size and blood type in order to be a good fit for the transplant recipient.
Finding the match
Since her uncle Stephen was a close relative, the living donor team chose to test him even though our team wasn’t sure whether he would be the proper size. Amazingly, Lina claimed, his liver was the right size. Being linked to her donor will let her potentially stop taking anti-rejection medication in the future, thus this turned out to be the best course of action for her in the long run.
A number of potential liver donors were considered too big for Florence until the match was found. Lina revealed that they are so relieved that there is a match because the wait was agonizing.
We weren’t permitted to know every detail of the living donor procedure, so we don’t know for sure how many people were rejected, Lina added.
Journey to healing
Florence has returned home with her parents and twin brother following a successful liver transplant.
Lina remarked, “She’s already smiling so much more.” Florence is intelligent, perceptive, likes to hide, and adores her dummy. Her brother is a very happy baby who loves to eat his hands, babbles a lot, and makes strange noises.
According to her mother, Florence will only need to take anti-rejection medication in a year when her current 13 prescriptions are gradually reduced.
To stop the immune system from attacking a transplanted organ, anti-rejection drugs are employed.
For the time being, Florence will see her doctors once a week for blood work in order to keep a careful eye on her health. Her appointments will change to bimonthly, then monthly, and so on, as her illness stabilizes.
There is no set timetable or procedure because each child responds to transplantation differently. According to Lina, it’s all day by day.
She went on to say that the family is excited to spend more typical infant moments with the twins, such as witnessing Florence’s actual personality blossom and watching them both mature.
The twins only began to notice one other approximately a month and a half ago, but since returning home, Lina revealed, they frequently glance at one another, even when they are across the room.
We are immensely appreciative of all the help we got. If nothing else, we want to have raised awareness of biliary atresia and demonstrated that there is a lot of good in the world, she said.
To assist with raising money for transplant-related costs, Florence’s family has teamed up with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA). Please assist us in achieving their COTA fundraising goal of $60,000 in Florence’s honor. Any donation will go a long way toward covering Florence’s transplant-related costs.
Make a one-time or ongoing tax-deductible donation at: http://cota.org/cotaforflorence/
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