Recipients

On July 24, 2013, a princess arrived, Deanna Lynn Anderson, who weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces. Our two older sons, Christian & Matthew, were overjoyed that they had a little sister, and yes, she was a princess in their eyes. We had her pink tutu ready for her to wear home from the hospital and lots of bows to choose from…we learned she would be going home with something else, too…a Bili blanket. Deanna had jaundice and the lights from this blanket would help the levels of jaundice in her system.    

After two visits to the pediatrician, we were told that Deanna no longer needed the blanket and was fine. Deanna always smiled, ate a lot, and gained weight, but her skin coloring changed, too. After asking the doctor if we should be concerned, we were pleased to learn that her skin color was a combination of Mommy and Daddy. It made sense, and who wouldn’t love a tan, right?  

Deanna’s second cousin, Sabrina, who is also a pediatrician, visited our family to meet Deanna when she was almost three months old. When Sabrina walked in and saw Deanna, her face was filled with panic. She told us that Deanna was not tan and that she was yellow, and it was not normal. Shortly after, Deanna was admitted to Joe Di Maggio’s Children’s Hospital, where they began running numerous tests.  

On Halloween of 2013, we were educated about a rare and life-threatening infancy disease, called Biliary Atresia or BA; where the bile ducts to the liver are blocked/nonexistent. BA occurs in every 1 in 15,000 births approx. The medical team at Joe D tried to repair the biliary system and was so hopeful, however, our destiny was to walk a different path…

On December 9, 2013, our family was told that Deanna needed a new liver. A liver transplant would be the only way that she would see her first birthday. As scary as it sounded at the time, and as much fear and anxiety we felt, our family stayed strong and prayed.  

Deanna was evaluated at Miami Transplant Institute and listed for a new liver New Year’s week of 2014. Her stay at MTI/Jackson felt like forever, yet, thanks to their loving and caring team it was like a second-home to Princess Deanna. On February 27, 2014, Deanna underwent an 8-hour liver transplant under the hands of an astounding team. She woke up from surgery with a new pink coloring and fighting against the respirator. Our princess never gave up and never lost her strength.  

Deanna is a very outgoing, clever, and loving three year old. She loves her family, her friends and teachers at school. She is obsessed with Princess Elsa and Princess Anna from the movie Frozen and loves being read to. Deanna has changed the world…her story may save other lives, and has encouraged many to register as organ donors. All this is possible thanks to her Organ Donor, he made this journey possible along with our family, the medical teams, and our entire support system. Deanna encourages us every day to believe in miracles and never give up.