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Alpha baby receives the gift of life
It was the happiest moment of her life, when Jaime Steele welcomed her baby girl into the world. Everything seemed so perfect. But what Jaime didn’t know, was that her life was about to be turned upside down, by a word she’d never heard of before.
It was just seven weeks after Jaidan was born when doctors noticed her jaundice getting progressively worse. She was admitted to the intensive care unit where tests revealed that Jaidan had Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
Jaidan seemed like she was doing fine though. She was active, happy and never appeared to be sick. Her doctor even predicted that she would not have to have a transplant.
But in August, she began to build fluid in her abdomen – a clear sign that her liver was failing. By October, Jaidan was put on the top of the transplant list.
Jaime and her daughter waited 259 days on the transplant list. Finally, the family got the call they had been waiting for on Father’s Day, 2009. Jaidan, was getting her gift of life.
Read Jaidan’s story in our Alpha Stories section.
