Meet Diana, a 13-year participant in the Stroll for Liver, inspired by a teenager with a big heart and even bigger voice: her daughter Charlotte. By registering for the Stroll, you too can share their commitment.

Diagnosed in infancy with biliary atresia, Charlotte had Kasai surgery at just over 2 months to replace her malformed bile ducts with parts from her intestine – with the caveat that if it failed, she’d need a liver transplant.

Fortunately, the surgery worked and Charlotte returned to a normal life.
But when she was 11, new complications required three stomach surgeries over six months. Diana practically lived with Charlotte at the hospital as friends and family helped on the home front, while Charlotte did schoolwork from her hospital bed, and, even with tubes in her stomach, practiced for a dance recital.

With her final surgery successful, Charlotte re-embraced her world, dancing in her recital while still recovering, and acting in local musicals.

Diana recalls shedding tears during Charlotte’s singing performance as Anna in Frozen, as she spotted her daughter’s surgeon and nurses in the audience cheering her on. To this day, she can’t say enough about how they helped Charlotte and others suffering with liver disease.

Her family and friends continue to Stroll year after year as “Charlie’s Angels”, raising substantial funds, hoping well-supported research can ultimately produce simpler procedures to pre-empt the need for risky transplants.

This year’s Stroll will be virtual, with Canadians participating in their own way (any physical activity counts), then sharing their experiences on August 28. Diana looks forward to this year’s event along with Charlotte, who believes, as Anna sang in Frozen, “Nothing’s in my way”. Will you join them? liver.ca/stroll-for-liver