The Best Mother’s Day Gift – A Son’s Second Chance at Life

[Rick@COTA]

May is the month set aside to celebrate mothers. Mother’s Day is one of the most universally acknowledged holidays shared across cultures and traditions; and it holds even more significance for the Mills family of Raleigh, North Carolina. Toddler David Mills is alive today because his mother, Bebe, donated a portion of her liver to him. With this gift, Bebe gave her son a second chance at life.

According to Bebe, she had the perfect pregnancy. No morning sickness, great health and working until the day her water broke while in her office. But when David was born, the medical team knew something was wrong, and he was immediately transferred to another hospital for more testing. The tiny infant was diagnosed with biliary atresia -- a fatal disease that can only be treated with a liver transplant.

At three months of age, David became very ill and had to be hospitalized. From that point on, he never laughed; he stopped reaching the milestones normal babies his age were attaining, and he was in the hospital much more than he was out of it.

On October 12, 2007, just shy of his first birthday, David was admitted to the University of North Carolina Hospital. It was then that Bebe discovered she was the best candidate to be a living liver donor for David. Transplant planning began, and the Mills family reached out to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA).

“When we first started researching the cost of a transplant, we started to worry because our insurance would not cover everything. COTA gave us hope by raising the funds we needed with a team of our friends and family members. COTA funds would be available for David whenever he needed them. That gave us hope.” said Bebe.

“My husband and I met with a few friends to discuss what our needs would be throughout the process and then COTA met with our friends and helped them organize. COTA provided us stability, reliability and security at a time when our lives were completely turned upside-down.”

David received a portion of his mother’s liver on December 7, 2007. David bounced back immediately, but it took longer for Bebe to recover. David remained hospitalized due to infection, but he was released on February 4, 2008, and according to his mother has been spending the months since transplant growing and playing “catch up” physically and developmentally.

“From the day David was born until today, his entire life is a miracle. Little David has been through so much and he has bounced back each time. We have strong spiritual beliefs and we do recognize that a miracle occurred in our family. We thank COTA for all they have done to make that possible.”

David’s smile, according to Bebe, is the ultimate Mother’s Day gift.

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association is a national charity that provides fundraising assistance to transplant families. COTA’s priority is to assure that no child or young adult is denied a transplant or excluded from a transplant waiting list due to lack of funds. 100% of all funds raised in honor of transplant patients are used for transplant-related expenses. For more information about COTA or to find a COTA family in your area, please email cota@cota.org.

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What a blessed miracle! May God continue to rain down His strength and healing for David and his family.

Thank you, Rick for keeping us posted on such wonderful works.