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"Everybody tells me how brave I am. It's nothing
compared to what she's been through."
--Kellie Lindley
At 4 pounds, 15 ounces, Kaylee Lindley is the world's
smallest recipient of a liver donated by a relative
Kellie Lindley's first face-to-face encounter with her
newborn daughter, Kaylee, should have been one of those
magic, never-to-be forgotten moments of pure joy.
The joy was certainly there, but the magic didn't last
long.
"There was blood on Kaylee's mouth," Kellie said in
reflecting on that early November day in 2003. "A red flag
went up right then that something wasn't quite right."
Kellie and her husband, Jim--a family medicine physician
from Port Byron, Illinois--had no previous reason to think
Kaylee's birth would be anything but normal.
Things changed quickly when doctors at Genesis Medical
Center in Davenport, Iowa, realized that Kaylee faced
difficult odds. For reasons that still baffle medical
experts, Kaylee was born without the cells needed to make
her liver function, including clotting blood and removing
toxins.
Within hours, a medical helicopter transported the 4
pound, 15 ounce baby to University of Iowa Children's Hospital at
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
UI hepatologist Warren Bishop, M.D., was one of several
specialists who evaluated Kaylee's condition upon her
arrival.
"The cells that make up the substance of the liver were
missing," Bishop explained. "Kaylee needed a liver
transplant … and that required a suitable donor, along
with highly specialized, life-sustaining care in the
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit."
Fortunately, tests showed that Kaylee's father, Jim, had
the same blood type and was a good tissue match for his
newborn daughter. If Jim was willing to take the risk, he
would make an ideal liver donor.
Jim Lindley didn't blink an eye in making the decision.
"You would do anything for your child," he said. "If it
meant taking an organ or a piece of an organ out of you for
her, you would sure do that to save her life."
Time was critical. Every tick of the clock lessened
Kaylee's chances for survival. She was at high risk for
brain damage and dangerous swelling.
Fortunately, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at
University of Iowa Children's Hospital has survival rates that rank in
the top 5 percent in the world, meaning Kaylee was in good
hands.
Meanwhile, the transplant team knew that because of
Kaylee's small size, the vascular reconstruction portion of
the procedure would be difficult.
Nineteen days after her birth, the transplant team
brought Kaylee and her father to the operating rooms for the
high-risk procedure.
"It was the hardest day of my life," Kellie said. "The
day I sent my husband and daughter into surgery, I didn't
know if I would see her pink little face again."
The smallest possible lobe of Jim Lindley's liver was
surgically reduced to the size of a small apple and
transplanted into Kaylee's abdomen.
At that point, she became the youngest living-related
liver transplant patient on record, according to the United
Network for Organ Sharing.
The difficulties didn't end there. Because of her size,
the incision over her new liver could not be closed until
she grew larger. The surgical site had to be covered with a
special mesh. The first 24 hours following the transplant
were critical.
Kaylee overcame that crisis and every other barrier to
her recovery as well, including eight surgeries to avoid
complications.
Finally, after three months, her grateful parents took
Kaylee home, where she should be able to lead a relatively
normal life.
The Lindleys couldn't be more pleased. "She's happy,
she's gaining weight, and she's starting to develop," Jim
said.
Kellie thinks of her daughter as a hero.
"She's been through more than most people have probably
ever been in their lives. She's beautiful, and I'm very,
very proud of her."
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