‘Miracle’ sparks fundraising drive
After life-saving liver transplant, family raises more than $178,000 for Sick Kids program
There’s no other word than ‘angel’ for her. She didn’t hesitate. It’s such a sacrifice. — Elizabeth Tutsch, speaking of daughter’s organ donor
TORSTAR, THE STAR’S PARENT COMPANY, IS INVOLVED IN A FUNDRAISING
AND EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HOSPITAL FOR SICK CHILDREN. JORDAN BITOVE, PUBLISHER AND CO-PROPRIETOR OF THE TORONTO STAR, IS A MEMBER OF THE SICK KIDS FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
“When it rains it pours,” a nurse said after reading Isabella Tutsch’s hospital chart more than two years ago.
“But then there’s rainbows,” replied the three-year-old girl.
Isabella — Izzy for short — was at the start of a medical journey that would see her face a series of lengthy operations before undergoing a life-saving liver transplant at Sick Kids hospital as part of its pediatric liver transplant program.
The largest pediatric liver transplant program in the country, the Sick Kids program has performed more than 680 life-saving liver transplants in children across Canada since 1986. The hospital has done 233 live donor transplants since they were introduced in 1996 — with Izzy’s journey counting as one.
When Elizabeth Tutsch was pregnant with Izzy, a 30-week ultrasound showed a cyst outside of Izzy’s liver.
Doctors monitored the cyst for the rest of the pregnancy, and then until her daughter was age three.
To minimize disruption in Izzy’s future, her parents decided to have the choledocal cyst removed laparoscopically in December 2019 in what was to be a relatively simple surgery. A few days later, when Izzy was to be discharged, it was obvious something wasn’t right and she was readmitted.
“She wasn’t herself,” her mother said. “We just watched her deteriorate.”
Izzy went septic — the body’s extreme response to infection — eight days after the cyst near her liver was removed. Because of this, she endured another surgery that lasted more than five hours.
Over the next few years, her family and doctors kept a close eye on Izzy. There were times when her mother and father, Tim, thought she was doing better. There were also periods, like in April 2020 and July 2021, where she spent days in the hospital at Sick Kids, ill.
“If you told her at the time we had to go back to the hospital, she was delighted,” Tim said.
“She knew it was a safe place for her and she knew it made her feel better,” Elizabeth added.
In August 2021, on the day after her fifth birthday, with end-stage liver disease, she was listed for a liver transplant.
Instead of waiting for a deceased donor, her parents immediately checked to see if they would be able to give her a portion of their liver. Neither was a match.
Without the transplant, Izzy wasn’t expected to make it to Christmas. “Our earth shattered,” said Elizabeth. The couple reached out to their community for help.
“We tried to see if we could find a liver for our baby girl,” said Elizabeth.
Karen Coristine, a neighbour and a mother of three daughters who go to school with the Tutsches’ daughters, immediately applied and was found to be a match.
“There’s no other word than ‘angel’ for her,” Elizabeth said. “She didn’t hesitate. It’s such a sacrifice.”
The transplant surgery took place in October this year.
“It is a miracle,” her mother said. “She is doing so well.”
Izzy is an energetic and spirited girl with a remarkable maturity and a warrior spirit. She’s wise, goaloriented and loves a challenge.
As the third of four children, she also loves inserting her voice and keeping up with her siblings, her parents say.
To help give back to Sick Kids, where Izzy was treated, and raise awareness for organ donation, the Tutsches have started a fundraiser called “Team Izzy” where they’ve already raised more than $178,000 for the transplant program in two weeks.
For Izzy, the greatest gift has been her living donor. “I realized that ‘Karen’ sounds like ‘caring’ for someone,” she said.