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From sick boy to lively toddler
Spokesman Review
SANDPOINT, ID—For Sandpoint residents Jeff and Denise McLagan, every day is Thanksgiving.
During the past year, Jeff and Denise say they have witnessed God’s miracles firsthand – miracles that allowed Jeff to give the gift of life to his 2 1/2-year-old grandson, Aiden Borchers.
Aiden was born with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, an inherited disorder that causes liver disease. Alpha-1 antitrypsin is a protein produced by the liver that protects the lungs.
“He was jaundiced when he was born and it never went away,” said Jeff. “They took some tests and he was diagnosed.”
A liver transplant was Aiden’s only hope for survival. But doctors in California, where Aiden lives, told the family the transplant could not take place until Aiden was about 3 years old, after his body had had a chance to mature.
