Roman was born in September of 2017. His parents, Monique and Richard, noticed that he was severely jaundiced. When his jaundice did not improve Roman was transferred from the hospital in Windsor, Ontario to a hospital in London, a two-hour drive away, before finally ending up at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, another two hours further away.

Through a series of tests, the team at SickKids diagnosed Roman with biliary atresia. On February 12^th, 2018, Roman was listed for a life-saving liver transplant. Monique stayed with her son at SickKids Hospital and Richard continued working back home in Windsor. Monique remembers this period as a time tinged with sadness, hopelessness, and denial but overall she was grateful that her family “had all the priceless goods – baby Roman, each other and our faith in God.”

As the family continued to wait for a liver, Monique went through the assessment process to see if she could be Roman’s living liver donor and it was confirmed that she was a match.

On August 16^th, 2018, Monique donated 20% of her liver to Roman. The transplant was successful and today he requires daily medication and routine checkups at hospitals in Windsor and Toronto but is doing well. Monique says that Roman is “an energetic snuggle bug that loves to make people smile.”