Holden Mom To Donate Part Of Her Liver To Save Baby's Life
BOSTON (CBS) - Meghan Stuart sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to her daughter Gabriella who was cradled in her dad's arm. Baby Gabby was wearing a pink dress her dad bought for her before she was born.
"Without the liver, I don't know how much time," said Meghan Stuart, Gabby's mom.
WBZ-TV first introduced you to Gabby in September. She was at Boston Children's Hospital. Within days of her birth in January 2015, doctors discovered she has a rare liver disease called Biliary Atresia.
No one in her family is a match to provide a life-saving liver. And, the story touched hundreds of people.
"Lahey had to shut down their website because they had so many people that applied to be her donor, and I got over 1,000 Facebook messages," said Stuart.
One of those people was Marybeth Sbrogna.
"They showed her face. It just resonated with me so much; I am a mother to two girls," said Marybeth Sbrogna. "What if my only hope was someone outside our family? Coming forward and taking this chance for us there was no question in my head."
A week-and-a-half later, the hospital called Meghan.
"It's somebody who knows you and she applied. We really think it's promising," said Stuart.
Meghan lives in Sterling and Marybeth lives in the next town of Holden. They know the same people and even belong to the same on-line mom groups. Marybeth's older daughter is named Gabby too.
And, if those weren't signs enough this was a match meant to be. "Gabby is normally very fussy who she goes to, and Marybeth held her and she was immediately fine," said Stuart.
Marybeth is the right blood type and small enough to donate. Doctors will take 25-percent of her liver and transplant it into Gabby. It will take a year for Marybeth's liver to grow back. She will be giving Gabby a life.
"Someone who honestly I couldn't hand-pick a better person for to give my baby a piece of her," said Stuart.
The surgery should happen in the first half of December. Marybeth will have part of her liver taken out at Lahey Clinic. It will then be rushed to Boston Children's Hospital to be transplanted into Gabby.
If you'd like to help Gabby's family with their medical bills, they have a GoFundMe page for donations.
