Annistyn Kate was born on October 1, 2012, and shortly after was diagnosed with a rare liver disease called Biliary Atresia (BA). At 2 months old, Annistyn Kate’s mom, Meghan, was told that her daughter needed a major operation called a Kasai procedure, which would be a temporary fix and one day she would need a lifesaving liver transplant. The procedure took around nine hours and the recovery time was a week. The doctors were pleased with how well she was recovering so they sent her home.
After two days of being home, Annistyn Kate was back in the hospital with cholangitis (a liver infection) and this led to a series of being in and out of the hospital. The entire experience was traumatic for Meghan. She couldn’t hold her baby to comfort her and when she was able to she had to be extremely careful with her cords and drain tubes. Meghan was powerless to help Annistyn Kate, but she found strength through her daughter. Over the years, she been hospitalized several times due to her liver disease but overall has been lucky in her fight with BA.
Annistyn Kate loves playing outside, being with her friends, watching Dora and walking in the Liver Life Walk! With over 100 liver diseases, so many, like Annistyn Kate and her family, are continuing to hope for medical breakthroughs.
