New parents' joy fades as baby faces terminal liver failure—mom's bold decision sparks hope for all

Every parent hopes their child is delivered safely and that the baby is healthy with no complications. Unfortunately, not every parent is fortunate enough and some go through the shattering reality of fighting conditions with their infants. A mom named Ashlynn Moss was heartbroken to learn that her newborn had liver failure and needed a transplant, as stated by Newsweek. When no hope seemed to work out and with the infant’s condition getting worse by each day, she was ready to do whatever it took to heal him. When the opportunity arose, Moss didn’t spare a second and was ready to bring life to her baby once again. 

The parents welcomed their newborn, Luka. Unfortunately, he shortly developed jaundice and everything seemed to go in a downward spiral. With scans, it was discovered that the infant didn’t have a gall bladder and would require a liver biopsy. "His potential diagnosis was biliary atresia, which is a liver disease where the bile ducts that connect the gallbladder to the lower intestine are either too narrow or underdeveloped and bile can't flow," the mom said. What followed were procedures and treatments that took away the joy of the new parents. 

Despite the treatments, Luka was diagnosed with liver failure and needed a transplant. The bereaved parents did everything in their power to arrange for a liver and in the meantime, the infant’s condition was deteriorating. They were thrilled to learn that there was finally a match and that the liver would be flown all the way from Kansas. Once again, their hopes lifted up only to be upended by more bad news. On the day of the surgery, when everything was almost set, the doctors revealed devastating news. “Something to do with flight delays made it so the liver had been out for too long and they were not confident in giving it to Luka,” Moss recalled. 

The then-6-month-old, together with his parents, was again in search of a life-saving transplant. However, with his condition getting worse, he was in the end stage of liver failure. A video captured the infant completely pale and yellow, with yellow eyes, in a frightening sight. In all the frantic wait, hope once again surfaced. The mom finally got back her results and was a perfect match for her son. Sharing another video of how it all went, Moss noted that she was not scared or worried but “felt peace,” knowing she was doing something for her baby. “I didn’t care what I had to go through. It was meant to be me, I felt it to my core,” she remarked. 

Finally, the procedure was through and the mom reunited with her son, eagerly awaiting his healing and recovery. "That moment of seeing and being reunited with him for the first time is something I longed for,” she said. The recovery process wasn’t easy. With Luka being on the ventilator, needing a heavy dose of medication and going through much pain, the family braved through it all together. A year since the transplant and though a few medications are still on, Luka is now home with his parents, growing, healing and living. The journey has been a life-altering one for the entire family but Moss notes that for the sake of her baby, she’d “do it all over again.”

You can follow Ashlynn Moss (@ashlynnmoss91214)  on TikTok for more content on parenting and motherhood. 

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