Ashley was born on a bright sunny Florida afternoon in July.  She was beautiful, head full of thick reddish-brown hair and the biggest dark blue eyes anyone has ever seen. Other than having the umbilical cord tied around her neck a few times, the delivery and birth went without problems. However, because Ashley was born with an unknown abnormality on or near her ovaries she was taken immediately from us for what would be her first of many ultrasounds. Little did we know that this would be the beginning of her life in and out of hospitals.

In early August, we took Ashley home to meet her big brother, Brad. Seeing our two children together gave us the overwhelming feeling that our family was complete. God has blessed us with the beauty and innocence of two very beautiful children, life could not be any better.  Even with the chaos of trying to figure out what was wrong with Ashley, going to the hospital every day for labs, having HIDA Scans, and ultrasounds, we were still feeling like the most blessed family.  However, we learned that Ashley's bilirubin was extremely high at just a few days old, her bili level was a 20. We also learned that Ashley had a choledochal cyst that was on her common bile duct.  This cyst was precancerous and was blocking the bile flow from Ashley's liver.  At six weeks of age, it was determined that Ashley would need surgery to remove the cyst, it was then that biliary atresia was discovered.

Hearing the words biliary atresia and liver transplant from Ashley's surgeon meant nothing to us; he might as well have been speaking a foreign language.  We were numb, shocked, expressionless, dumbfounded, scared...all these adjectives and many more.  How can our beautiful baby girl need a liver transplant? The surgeon told us that Ashley's liver was dying and she would need a liver transplant by the time she was 10 months to a year old.  Although, we were scared for Ashley's future, our faith told us that she was going to be fine.

Ashley's first six months were spent in and out of the hospital for various reasons, from severe dehydration to a bile leak.  While in ICU, Ashley had to be resuscitated at least once by the nursing staff. The bile leak caused her other organs to begin shutting down.  Over the course of her first six months of life, we almost lost Ashley three times but Ashley's a fighter.

Now almost ten years after her Kasai, Ashley is doing well.  She has portal hypertension,  some small varices, low platelets and a low white blood cell count.  Ashley has three small masses in her liver and so far they appear to be benign.  We are currently preparing ourselves financially and emotionally for a liver transplant. Although she is not currently listed for a transplant, we know that a liver transplant is need for her future. Ashley does well in school but struggles to maintain an A/B average.  She required speech therapy for three years and has been diagnosed with mild inattentive ADD. 

Despite all that she is faced with, our daughter remains a normal child. Normal for her is dancing, playing with friends, doing backhand springs at the gym and playing with our family pets, Sarge (dog),  Skylar (cat), and her pet hamster, Nugget. Ashley loves her big brother, Brad, and enjoys the time they spend together even if its playing Guitar Hero or chilling out in his room.  Normal for Ashley also means that she goes to the hospital at least every four months for labs, MRI's, ultrasounds, scopes, etc.  Normal for us, is looking at our daughter's eyes, seeing strength and beauty that surpasses anything we can comprehend.