City celebrates 5-year-old girl who survived liver failure

The Ontario community came together Monday to celebrate the birthday of 5-year-old liver failure survivor Raylee Russo.

Raylee got a diagnosis of acute liver failure a month before her fifth birthday and underwent a liver transplant within days of entering the hospital.

“It is so strange because she has always been such a healthy little girl,” said her mother, Klarissa Russo.

Russo and her husband noticed a slight yellowing of their daughter’s eyes while getting ready for bed Jan. 10. They took her to the hospital, where they learned Raylee’s liver enzymes were elevated, leaving doctors to believe she was experiencing an autoimmune disease that they hoped to turn around.

Doctors saw no sign of improvement, and three days after a liver biopsy, Raylee was added to the transplant list. Within 10 hours doctors found a match.

Raylee was discharged from the hospital Feb. 10, and with her fifth birthday fast approaching, one family approached the Russos with a plan to host a driveby parade.

Socially distanced events such as this were popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave the Russo family a solution to Raylee’s need to be isolated from the public during her recovery.

“It started as this small thing and then everyone just came together, which was really cool for Raylee because we see how many people are supporting and cheering for her,” her mother said. “I think everybody knows that this was a real miracle.”

What started with family driving by turned into a larger community event. Raylee dressed in her Wednesday Addams costume and joined for the celebration by the Ontario Police Department,

Ontario Fire Department and the Ontario Car Club, among others. Decorations were donated by Sophia’s Party Rentals and the family handed out cupcakes and goody bags to thank community members for helping them celebrate Raylee’s big day.

“If it wasn’t for everyone coming together, we wouldn’t have been able to do it at all,” Russo said.

Raylee delighted in a new bubble gun and all her new and old friends. Her parents say she is more cautious since her ordeal but she is recovering.

“Raylee is so strong, and we are just so proud of her,” her mother said.

PHOTOS BY ANJALI SHARIF-PAUL — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Raylee Russo’s fifth birthday is celebrated with a drive-by parade after she survived liver failure. She is seen playing with a new bubble toy as friends and family members continue visiting in Ontario on Monday.

Ontario Fire Department members join Raylee’s birthday parade on Monday. They let Raylee, 5 and her brother Ryan, 10, use the fire hose for fun while their mother, Klarissa, watches.