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Doctors at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton continued to monitor the health of Emma Crawley, the infant whose life was in peril due to complications with her liver. A critical buildup of fluid had the medical team doing everything to ease the situation while Emma awaited donor organs for a transplant series including her liver.
Her precarious health had doctors alternately search for a live liver donation or a pediatric donor for a multi-visceral procedure. Changes in her condition led those doctors to pursue a living donor liver match for Emma. The search included extended family members from the Lake Lenore, Marysburg and Humboldt area with none providing a suitable match, until one family member provided a suitable match option.
In an update from family member Janessa Britz, she explained that Emma’s condition necessitated her being ruled eligible for a living donor who would cede part of her liver to provide Emma with a chance at improved health.
It was Emily Britz whose type matched Emma’s and allowed Emily, in a supreme act of generosity, to become a donor.
“Tuesday, May 28 was when Emily went to Alberta for the final steps in seeing if she would be a perfect match for Emma,” said Janessa. “She finished all her blood work and testing, but Emma coded in the morning – the doctors thought due to a respiratory arrest. She was intubated and they put a drain in her belly, as the fluid buildup had been worsening.”
It was a scary moment for the Crawley family as medical staff administered CPR to resuscitate their small patient. The incident meant that the living donor procedure simply wasn’t viable in the short term. Emma was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.
Meanwhile, news came back that Emily was a match for a living donor option. Since Emma’s condition negated a transplant at the time, Emily returned and awaited further developments.
A week after the coding event, on June 5, Emily received the call that Emma had rallied, and doctors were ready to go ahead with the procedure.
“I think everyone was quite shocked that it all happened quickly because no one thought the surgery was going to happen,” Janessa revealed. “But little Emma kept on fighting, and she kept getting better each day, but she was still sick enough to determine that something had to happen.”
Because of her still fragile condition, the surgery was worrisome, but doctors and family weighed the risks and outcomes, and they decided to proceed. When word came back to Emily, she and her husband Jeremy quickly prepared for the trip back to Edmonton, arranging for their own children's care. In a three-day turnaround, Emily was in Edmonton and was prepped for surgery.
“She (Emily) deserves so much recognition. It is a risky surgery.”
In the end, there were many potential matches from the family weighed as candidates, but only Emily’s scored high enough to make her the sole viable candidate. Janessa’s admiration of Emily’s unwavering devotion to little Emma is clear.
The high-risk surgery was performed, on Tuesday June 11, with no complications, and as of the last report from Janessa was deemed by all accounts as a success.
“The best way to put it is that all the doctors are almost in awe of how well Emma has been doing. They were expecting it to be an extremely bumpy road if the surgery was successful.”
Emma continues her recovery at the Stollery Children’s Hospital while Emily is recovering at home. The remarkable story of love, determination and effort on the part of everyone from family to doctors to Emma’s supporters continues to inspire. Thanks to the generosity of family member Emily Britz, the tale continues toward a positive outcome.