Another wish.. Delivered!

Wright-Barton Family, “Kaleigh is a 17 year old girl who loves music, movies, talking on the phone, makeup and friends. She is an amazing big sister to her brother and sister. Her favorite food is lobster. Favorite color is rose gold and her favorite artist of all time is Justin Bieber. She's just your typical teenager. But there's a little more to her than what meets the eye. She is brave, strong and resilient. She's courageous, loving and empathetic. She has one the biggest hearts you'll ever find. I believe that's all because she has been on a crazy rollercoaster ride her whole life. She's been through and has learned a lot which has molded her into the young lady she has become.

So let me tell you a little more about her and why we think she's so special.

Kaleigh was born in Halifax Nova Scotia. She was born prematurely with a birth defect called gastroschisis. This is a condition where the intestines protrude and continue to grow on the outside of the fetuses abdominal wall during gestation. In most cases, once the babies are born the surgeons can put the intestines back inside where they belong with no further complications. But Kaleigh’s case was severe. Just seconds after birth she was rushed into the OR to remove what was all exposed, dead intestine. She was left with just centimeters. Leaving her with a condition called Short Gut Syndrome. Leaving her with a life time of complications.

As you can probably imagine, getting efficient nutrients was next to impossible for Kaleigh. So all of her nutrition had to be supplemented with a solution called TPN . This was given through a central venous catheter in her chest, close to her heart. In order for Kaleigh to grow and thrive, she had to receive TPN daily and she would need to carry it in a back pack and take it everywhere she went. Most times needing to be hooked up to the pumps for 24hrs a day.

By the time she was 4 months old she was starting to show signs of liver disease secondary to the TPN.

It was then that we were told about SickKids in Toronto. We would have to fly there for a liver assessment as Halifax didn't have the proper medical equipment. So myself being 17 years old and her dad just 20, we packed for 2-5 days and headed to the big city with our baby girl.

Once we arrived in Toronto by air ambulance, we were transferred to SickKids where we met our new team of Dr's. After doing a few tests it was determined that Kaleigh would not be returning home to Nova Scotia as her condition was much worse than expected. She would instead be staying at SickKids for a life saving liver transplant and would remain there until stable.

At just 8 months old Kaleigh received a liver transplant. Her recovery was extensive and she would have to remain an impatient for another 10 months thereafter.

It was then that it was decided that it would be best if Kaleigh stayed close by SickKids and we would relocate to make Toronto our new home.

Kaleigh finally got her first hospital discharge at 18 months old. But that wasn't the end of hospitals for her.

Over the next few years Kaleigh would continue to have many medical complications which led her to being an inpatient more than being at home. She became a very familiar face, not just on the transplant ward but all over SickKids as she became a hospital ambassador. If you stroll the halls you will see her face along the walls of main street by the gift shops.

However, with all of this, by the time she was 8 she was still dependent on the TPN. So over these 8 years her liver began to fail again. She had gotten very ill and ended up in the ICU on life support where she would remain until she received a second transplant. We came so close to losing her. It was nothing short of a miracle when Kaleigh received her organ just in the nick of time. Again, this time around, the recovery was brutal. But with this transplant, over the years, Kaleigh had made extensive gains.

It took a lot of hard work, time and dedication but here she is. 2020 was finally our year. After moving half way across the country for top notch health care, 23 major abdominal surgeries, countless invasive procedures, over 100 anesthetics, feeding tubes, ostomy bags, dozens of blood infections, biopsies, who knows how many other tests and scans and not to mention the several hundred combined days as an inpatient, Kaleigh was miraculously able to get rid of her TPN for the first time in her life at 15 years old. I’m so proud to say that she is finally thriving and is living a normal, healthy, quality filled life. The only time she sees SickKids nowadays is for a quick iron top up!

She was so delighted to finally be able to have her wish fulfilled. Her first choice of course was always Disney but she had only became stable and predictable in 2020 shortly after Covid hit. She knew with Covid, that wasn't going to be possible. So what's the next best thing for a teenage girl? A shopping spree of course! To one of the largest malls in the GTA! Needless to say, Kaleigh had an absolute blast. We all did! Her smile was the best part of that day. Just seeing her get whatever she wanted without being told no was absolutely amazing. So many things have been out of her control her whole entire life. Always being told no. But her Wish day.. that was finally her "yes" day! It was incredible.

I know this will remain a very important highlight in her life. I also know she will be telling this story to anyone who will listen, for many years down the road.

Thank you so much for giving Kaleigh her wish. It is exactly what we didn't know she needed. Thank you. Thank you!