For the past 19 years, I have been fortunate to be a patient at Boston Children’s Hospital. After running the Boston Marathon in support of Children’s Hospital last spring, I am more than excited to once again support the place that has given so much to me and my family.
At 9 weeks old, I was diagnosed with a rare liver disease and underwent major surgery to postpone the need for a liver transplant and allow me to live a healthy childhood. At the age of 11, I was placed on the liver transplant waitlist, and at the age of 13, I received a split liver transplant. While recovering from the transplant was challenging, the doctors, nurses, and staff supported me every step of the way. To the point that seven weeks post-transplant, I was playing goalie for my soccer team again. When I was 17, I experienced a serious bout of liver rejection and while it was challenging to be stuck in the hospital for several weeks, the transplant team did everything they could to keep me engaged in my academics and the outside world.
I've once again joined the Miles for Miracles team because I believe so strongly in all the amazing things Boston Children's Hospital does. I run in honor of: the pediatric transplant team, the doctors and nurses on 10 South, the research community that transforms medicine each day, my organ donor and their family, and the hospital that has saved my life and the lives of countless others.