Savannah Smith was slowly dying since the day she was born. But
when she received a new liver after high school graduation, she got a second
chance at life.
“I was sick on and off my whole life,” Smith said. “It was a
part of God’s purpose for me, part of my life. I know it’s helped me develop as
a person.”
At four weeks old, Savannah was diagnosed with biliary atresia,
a rare liver disease. At five weeks, she was operated on for the first time. In
19 years, she has endured dozens of additional surgeries.
“The doctors said, ‘Medicine doesn’t fix this. If she
doesn’t have this surgery, she’s going to die. If she does have this surgery,
there’s still a high percentage that she still may die, and she’ll definitely
will die at some point early without a transplant,” said Shelley Smith,
Savannah’s mother. “That readjusted our whole life.”
In and out of the hospital, Savannah’s health was like a
rollercoaster, Shelley said. A high in her life was being voted Dutchtown High
School homecoming queen, shortly followed by one of the longest lows. Savannah
could no longer attend school, and was forced to study from home during her
senior year.
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Savannah was crowned Dutchtown High School homecoming queen,
just weeks before sitting out her senior year due to her illness. |
“The most difficult part was not being able to do stuff with
my friends, and not getting to go to school since I love school,” Savannah
said.
Savannah got so sick that she had brain damage. She couldn’t
walk in a straight line, and couldn’t remember asking the same question
multiple times. She slept 16 hours a day, and during the few hours she was
awake, she did schoolwork online.
Savannah needed a new liver to survive. On April 26, 2014,
Savannah became the No. 5 patient on the national pediatric liver waiting list.
She was 17 years old.
Despite this, Savannah walked – crooked though it was –
across the stage at her high school graduation with a 3.8 GPA in May. Unbeknownst
to her, at another school that same month, her liver donor was also celebrating
his graduation.
On May 31, 2014, Savannah received a new liver.
She said this wouldn’t have been possible without God’s
timing and miracles. She was admitted into the hospital the week before the
transplant with a high fever when the doctors discovered five infections.
But in just three days, the infections disappeared. The transplant would not
have been possible if she had any infections.
“They don’t know how, other than God, which is what I say. I
was waiting to be discharged whenever the doctor came in and said, ‘We have a
possible liver for you,’” Savannah said.
After she and her family got over the initial shock, they
began to pray.
“I was praying for my donor’s family, just knowing what they
were going through as we rejoice that I’m getting this second chance,” Savannah
said.
A drunk driver killed her donor, a 17-year-old boy, the
night of his high school graduation. The similarities between him and Savannah
were uncanny, and the Smith family grieved for the donor’s family.
“We had already been praying for the family for a long
time,” said Madison Smith, Savannah’s younger sister. “She just graduated and
he just graduated, and he didn’t even make it to the day after. It was
difficult knowing that it could have been my sister we lost instead of their
son.”
As the nurses and doctors prepared Savannah for the
transplant, her family said it was difficult telling her goodbye.
“It was really nerve-racking to understand that this may be
the last time I see my sister alive, and the fact that this also may be the one
time that will save my sister and keep her alive,” Madison said.
Throughout the ordeal, Savannah’s faith never wavered,
though her mother acknowledged she was
anxious.
“Savannah was the only one of us who wasn’t nervous. She
said she knew God had it all in control,” Shelley said. “The rest of us weren’t
quite so faithful. We were all very human. She never loss her faith or had
doubt.”
“She told us she was ready no matter the outcome,” Shelley
said. “That’s also hard to hear from your little girl, to know she was prepared
for death.”
After seven hours, Savannah woke up with a smile on her
face.
“It felt like a choir of angels,” Shelley said. “She was
smiling behind the breathing tube, she signed she loved me and she squeezed my
hand to let me know she was ok.”
Two days after the surgery, Savannah could walk in a
straight line. One month later, she went home with her family. But the roller
coaster ride wasn’t over. She suffered complications from the transplant and
had two more surgeries in July 2014. While she has no more liver issues,
Savannah is still sick.
“Unfortunately, people think that once you’re transplanted,
all your worries are gone. She’s not dying every day like she was, but… now you
have a different set of problems,” Shelley said. “She’ll never be what society
calls normal. She has her normal, and she’s still not there yet. This will
impact our family for life.”
Savannah had to sit out her freshman year of college to
recover, but finally enrolled at Southeastern Louisiana University in August
2015 along with her sister Madison. They are both studying nursing.
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Savannah and Madison began their freshman
year together at Southeastern in August. |
“Going back to school is amazing,” Savannah said. “I’m
healthy now, and I want to reach my dream job of being a nurse. I’m thankful
for the opportunity.”
Savannah said she had a special bond with all her nurses at
each hospital. She hopes to specialize in pediatric oncology.
“My nurses made all the difference. They’d come in and braid
my hair and eat pizza with me,” she said. “I’m hoping to use my experiences to
work with the patients and their parents.”
Throughout it all, Savannah has had a smile on her face and trust in
God. She may not be 100 percent healthy, but “she’s living,” Madison said.
“She runs and works out. She goes to school full-time with
me. She speaks for the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency. She’s living. Before
the transplant, she’d be in bed right now sleeping,” Madison said. She pointed
out the window at her backyard. “Look, she’s outside playing with the dogs
right now.”
Above everything, Savannah is thankful for a second chance
at life.
“I really couldn’t express my gratitude to [the donor family] to
honor his decision to be a donor,” she said. “I want to share and promote organ
donor awareness even more than I was, and talk to everybody about how important
it is to appreciate the little things.”
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Savannah finished third in her division at the 2015
Rabalais Run for Life, which promotes organ donor awareness. |
