The following is an update on Katelyn & Zoe Bachman, whose lives are sustained by daily blue light treatments.
Dear Friends & Family,
We want to give you an update on Katelyn and Zoe. For those of you who haven’t heard, we just returned from a week in Pittsburgh. Katelyn and Zoe had their 4 day hospital evaluations and are now on the National Transplant List. Katelyn will hopefully receive her liver transplant within 6 to 8 months. Zoe will wait until she is 2 or 3 years old.
The Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh is the leader in liver transplants with a 98% survival rate. Nation-wide the survival rate is 91%. They have a wonderful team of doctors and nurses who have experience with Crigler-Najjar patients. Since the girls are the only Texans with this condition, we have had to become experts on our own. It was nice to be able to say the name of the condition and not have to explain it. Over the past 6 years we have dealt with countless doctors who have never heard of this condition. What a blessing to be in good hands and NOT be the experts!
When a liver becomes available we will only have a matter of hours to get Katelyn to Pittsburgh. We are in the process of looking for corporations who could possibly provide a private jet when the time comes. We were told that 95% of the time a commercial flight will not work. We plan to have some bags already packed so that we are prepared.
After the transplant Katelyn will be in the hospital for about 2 weeks. She will then be released to the Pittsburgh area. She will have blood work and appointments almost daily to watch her progress. In total, we will end up living in Pittsburgh for 2 to 3 months before coming home.
For now we are glad to be back in sunny South Texas where it’s nice and warm! We want to thank you for your prayers and support. We will keep you updated as we continue this process. If you would like to see pictures of our trip you can go to www.KatelynsLight.com and click on the “Update” tab.
Love,
Jeff & Tammy
The Bachman Family
Jeff, Tammy, Shannon, Katelyn, Caleb, & Zoe
