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Liorah's Transplant Journey
CELEBRATE
the Gift of Life
SPRING 2021 | VOLUME 33
Liorah's Transplant Journey Message from the Chairman Message from the CEO
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Message from the SVP,
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Fund Development Message from the Director
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of Family Relations Liorah's Transplant Journey Continued 4 April is National Organ & Tissue 6 Donation Awareness Month
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Partner Spotlight: National Post 11 Thank You to All Our Partners 11
Donate Life Canada
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212 HENRY ST., VICTORIA, BC V9A 3H9 OFFICE: 250.475.1223 FAX: 250.475.1193 TOLL FREE: 1.877.777.7675
DAVIDFOSTERFOUNDATION.COM
Liver transplant recipient, Liorah.
Liorah’s Transplant Journey
Darline and David were overjoyed with the birth Liorah of their second child, Liorah, in November of 2018. TRANSPLANT: Their first child, Holly, had jaundice after she was LIVER born in 2016, so when Liorah started to develop TRANSPLANT DATE: it, they were not too worried, but took her to NOVEMBER 27, 2019 the doctor anyway. The doctor ordered a blood HOME: MONTREAL, QC test which came back abnormal. Liorah was transferred to CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal, where she was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare disease that affects the liver and can be fatal.
On the day that Liorah was diagnosed, the medical team performed a Kasai surgery on her, which is a procedure with a one in three chance of improving the liver malformation caused by biliary atresia. The surgery failed, and five months later, Liorah was listed for a liver transplant. Darline was not able to work as Liorah needed her care and the family was struggling to cover their expenses with only David’s salary. Their social worker told them about the David Foster Foundation, which supported the family with expenses such as rent, food, parking, gas, car payments, car insurance, and daycare. “The David Foster Foundation helped us a lot financially, which allowed us to breathe a little and take away some of our stress. The Foundation and our social worker were like angels sent to help ease our suffering,” writes Darline.