There is nothing comparable to a mother’s love. It’s selfless, always giving and comforting. But for Tiffany Kuzmick, from Garnett Valley, PA, her generosity was put to the ultimate test when her daughter, Emma, was diagnosed with biliary atresia.
At six weeks old, Tiffany took Emma to her pediatrician because she had jaundice. After having her liver functions checked, it was clear that something was wrong. She had a surgical treatment, but it was only a temporary fix. After a ten-day hospital stay, she was able to come home. Because Emma was failing to thrive, she needed to have a feeding tube to ensure that she had a sufficient amount of nutrition.
As a small child, Emma had experienced a whirlwind of testing, surgeries, illness and long hospital stays. “On a good day, you would never have known that she was sick.” said Tiffany. “But she was. In just a few years, she was in the hospital for about 100 nights. We were lucky to have such a strong support system with our family and friends. It allowed me to focus on Emma. I wanted my baby to thrive.” she said.
Due to Emma’s decreasing liver function and deteriorating health, she was added to the organ transplant waitlist – which didn’t provide much comfort to her family. Currently in the U.S., an average of21 people die each day while waiting for a life-saving organ transplant that never comes. There are over 5,300 men, women and children waiting for an organ transplant in the region, and over 115,000 nationally. These statistics are frightening. Tiffany knew that there was no guarantee that Emma would receive a second chance at life, so she moved into action. She began the extensive testing to see if she was a match for Emma, and if she could be a living donor.
“After five weeks of testing, I found out that I was a match. Emma was only three at this time, and I had my son Ben, who was one. It was a lot to juggle – me having the surgery and Emma recovering too. We had calendars to manage everyone’s schedule and my husband was really amazing during that time.” said Tiffany. “It got to a point where I felt like ‘Take whatever you need from me. Just make Emma better.’”
Although it was difficult for Tiffany to not be able to care for Emma after they both had surgery because of her own recovery, she felt grateful that she was able to save her daughter’s life. “Before Emma’s transplant, she was really sick. Her ammonia levels were very high, and she had bleeding episodes and blood transfusions. After recovering, we never looked back. She was able to live an active life and had an appetite for the first time.” Tiffany said.
Today, Emma is a healthy young girl. “She’s a miracle. She takes one medicine, twice a day and is able to do gymnastics and dance – which she loves. She’s a great big sister and is a happy little girl. I feel blessed that I was able to give her life two times. Not every mother can say that.” she said.
Wow,, how great it is ! Your courage is what is truly awesome !! I too received the gift of life with my niece as she was a living liver donor for me ! She is my hero and you are Emma’s. My surgery was 7-6-2010 and all went extremely good ! We were the 4th to have it performed at HMC. My niece was 35, married and had 2 young children when she surprised me with her results that I had no idea she was being tested ! God bless you, Emma and your family. God is good !
Without the gift of a heart transplant our son, Chris would not have had four and a half more years of life. We are so grateful to the Mother of our donor for making such an unselfish decision of the gift of her son’s heart. Chris’ transplant took place at Temple Hospital on January 5, 1988. Although he had only four years of life after his transplant, Chris accomplished more in that short period of time than I could accomplish in a lifetime. God Bless Emma and your whole family!