Taya’s journey with liver disease began in August of 2007 when she entered into the world. The first couple weeks of life went according to plan; she was developing and growing normally, despite a nagging yellow tinge in her eyes and skin.

“She had 10 little toes and fingers, and a set of very good lungs,” says Jennifer, Taya’s mom. “When we asked nurses what the yellow tinge could be, they suggested that perhaps it was breastmilk jaundice”.

Later due to the advice of a friend (a nurse at the Alberta Children’s Hospital), Jennifer and her husband were advised to take Taya to the emergency room. Their world would soon be turned upside.

Taya was diagnosed as a newborn with biliary atresia, a liver disease that is the leading cause of liver failure in newborns and children, her parents were in absolute shock. At just 11 weeks-old, Taya underwent a five-hour surgery called the “Kasai procedure” required to prevent further damage on her liver and save her liver. The surgery was a success, but one thing was certain; Taya would need a liver transplant in her future. Read full story here.