04/16/2026
💚 A Morning of Emotion & Gratitude 💚
I was able to open the envelope we received from Jonny’s donor’s family at our last clinic appointment.
It was from his donor’s mother.
I don’t think there are words strong enough for what that feels like. Opening something written by another mother, someone who has experienced unimaginable loss. It carries a weight and a connection that is hard to describe.
There’s an immediate recognition there. Not of circumstances, but of love. Of grief. Of what it means to be a mother holding both heartbreak and the need to reach out across it.
Our transplant team does encourage families to remain confidential, especially in these early stages, and I am still sitting with that guidance while also trying to process what this connection means in my own heart.
Although this is deeply personal for my family, this page has always been an outlet for me through this journey. Through the fear, the waiting, the healing, and everything in between, I have felt supported and less alone here.
So sharing this part of our story, even something this intimate feels like the only way I know how to process it right now. 💚
I’ll share the note I wrote in response below.
To the family of our donor,
There are some moments in life that split everything into a before and an after. The day my son received a liver transplant, thanks to your daughter was one of those moments.
It’s impossible to put into words the weight of what your family has given us. A new liver is not just a second chance at life. For my son, it’s a chance at a different life. One not defined by fear, restrictions, or constant monitoring. One with possibility.
My son was born with a rare condition. For the past many years, he has lived a life few could understand. One that looked stable from the outside, but underneath was full of complexity and vigilance. Every single day was a balancing act. Strict diets. Dozens of medications. Exhaustive check-ins. Constant bloodwork.
He lived a life of limitations. No overexertion. No stress. Every bike ride, swim, illness, school test, emotional breakdowns or even jumping on the trampoline came with risk. Constant worry. I watched him like a hawk. I had to. The risks were too great.
Recently everything shifted. Many unexplained hospital admissions in a matter of months. No clear reason. Just this reality we’d always been warned about. His condition is unpredictable. It was heartbreaking to watch him go through it, knowing this rare condition was doing things that doctors couldn’t always explain. This was proof that his condition was shifting, and not in our favor. The uncertainty became unbearable.
After many talks with specialists, I made a decision that no parent takes lightly, to move toward transplant. To give him a chance at a better quality of life. And just as we were preparing ourselves for the unknown, your family made a decision in the midst of the unimaginable.
Your daughter’s gift saved my child’s life and the lives of others too. I don’t know if I’ll ever truly be able to express how much it means that you chose to let your child live on in others. But I want you to know this: because of you, I’ll get to hold my son longer and most importantly with less fear. I’ll get to see him laugh freely. He’ll get to just be a kid, a teen, a man, someone who can grow into his own life, not one I am constantly managing moment by moment.
What your daughter has given reaches far beyond my son’s health. It has changed our entire family. For so long, we lived in a constant state of survival, where every decision, every moment, was shaped by his condition.
Because of your daughter’s gift, that weight has lifted in a way I don’t know how to fully describe. I am no longer living every moment on edge, watching for signs, trying to stay one step ahead of illness, making emergency room visits and carrying fear with me at all times. I have been able to step out of that constant state of vigilance and begin to breathe again.
I can be more present with both of my children. With joy, with calm, and with a sense of peace that we haven’t felt in a very long time. I am not just managing each day anymore, I am finally able to enjoy it. That is something your daughter has given not just to my son, but to me as a mother, and to us as a family.
In the process of searching for a living donor for my son, we had someone step forward with the intention of helping him, she chose to continue forward and ultimately donated a portion of her liver to someone else. So in a way, your daughter’s gift didn’t just change one life, it became part of something even bigger. Her gift helped create a path that allowed another life to be saved as well. It’s a reminder that this kind of love and selflessness doesn’t stop in one place. It continues on, reaching people we may never meet.
We are about to celebrate nine months since this incredible gift, and he is doing better than I ever could have hoped. He is a resilient, funny, and a strong boy who loves riding his bike, being outdoors, fishing, Lego, gaming and spending time with people he loves. Seeing him begin to enjoy those simple parts of childhood more freely has been something I don’t think I’ll ever take for granted.
I also want to thank you for the photos you shared. They are so incredibly meaningful to us. I will frame them and display them proudly in our home, as a beautiful reminder of her and the piece of her that now lives on in our hearts.
I hope you know that the love you poured into your daughter now lives on through my son. I carry that with me every single day. And when I hold him, I feel both of them. Your daughter and my son woven so perfectly together in the most sacred, quiet way.
There is no way to thank you enough. But please know that your daughter’s life and legacy will never be forgotten in our home. We are honouring her every single day.
With all my heart, from one mother to another, I honour you and your daughter.
A forever grateful mother of one of your daughter’s gifts.
