Hannah is two!

This is a very exciting birthday for Hannah. Two years is a very special milestone for a child with biliary atresia, because it is a birthday they could never have reached without successful surgery - the Kasai, or Liver Transplant. Forty years ago, we would have watched her get yellower, and succumb to the complications of liver failure while we stood helplessly by, because neither of these surgeries would have been available. And even in the 21st century, we are among the lucky ones....for now. Babies and young children still die from biliary atresia. Some of them live in countries where the surgeries are not available or where there are very limited medical facilities. Some of their families cannot afford treatment. Even in developed, wealthy countries, the story can still be a very tragic one. Neither transplant nor Kasai have 100% success rates (in fact the Kasai success rate is somewhere around 60% even at the best centres, and often lower) and complications can occur even a long time post transplant.

So the fact that Hannah is even here to be two years old is in itself a miracle. The fact that she has had no problems whatsoever since her Kasai is even more mind blowing. I am grateful for every day that we are at home going about our normal business, and nowhere near a hospital. I never imagined when she was discharged at 7 weeks 5 days that she would reach her second birthday without any inpatient stays, not even false alarms.

Hannah means 'Grace of God' and there is no doubt that she reminds us of his grace every day.

Happy birthday, little sunshine girl.