Mokena Infant Gets His New Liver

A beloved baby boy from Mokena had an entire community waiting with bated breath, as Baby Nathan’s parents told his supporters that their littlest hero was headed back into surgery Wednesday.

Five-month-old Nathan finally got the new liver he needed on Monday, an encouraging update in his heartbreaking struggle of being born with a rare disorder that caused his liver to fail. A liver segment from a deceased donor was placed inside Nathan on Monday, and almost instantly his condition began to improve.

All seemed well initially, until Tuesday when complications showed he would need an additional surgery.

“Although not uncommon, it’s still scary,” his parents Christina and Rob wrote on theSaving Baby Nathan Facebook page. “He’s bleeding in his belly, so they want to clean that out and find out where he’s bleeding from.”

He has since come through surgery safely.

“Nathan came through surgery with flying colors,” his parents updated his waiting fans. “The doctors are very happy with how things look. His liver function is trending in the direction they’d like it to. Nathan’s hepatic artery has great flow, and the clots in his belly were cleaned out and there’s no active bleeding.”

The couple appeared to have taken the week’s news in stride, the latest in Nathan’s story of survival. He was born March 2 with what appeared to be jaundice, but Christina knew something else was causing his eyes and skin to appear yellow.

“It was very scary. It’s heartbreaking to see your child so sick,” Christina told Chicago Tribune. “Nothing about his life has been normal so far.”

More than 10,000 rallied behind the little guy and his family, taking to social media to show their support and bring attention to Nathan’s needs. Hundreds of people offered up a piece of their livers, but only the perfect match would do—and it was tough to find.

Ultimately, it was a liver segment from someone who lost their life that would give Nathan another shot at his.

“All weekend, I had this feeling that it was going to happen,” Christina told Chicago Tribune. “And then Sunday night we got the call.”

“The miracle is, Nathan is being given a sacred gift,” his parents wrote. “And through the support of all the doctors and nurses at Lurie Children’s Hospital, you and everyone else who gave their all to make sure baby boy lives to fight another day, this has been possible.”