Alma Claussen

Little Alma is proof that organ donation works.

Alma Kaleolani Claussen was born to Amy and Jereme Claussen at 11:06pm on Tuesday, June 10th, 2014 after a long and complicated labor. Due to the doctors’ concern that she had stopped growing, it was determined that labor should be induced early. Not wanting to come into the world early, she needed to be taken out with a vacuum suction which left a cephalhematoma on her head causing jaundice for several months. This was the beginning of her journey….

If you have been following Alma’s story on http://bit.ly/almaclaussen, then you know that this sweet little girl was born with a rare infant disease called Biliary Atresia. At two months old, she had major surgery called a Kasai to hopefully fix her bile ducts, but by October, it was determined that she needed a liver transplant. While plans were being made to go to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford for her transplant evaluation, Alma took a sudden turn for the worse and she and her mom boarded an emergency plane to get her there quickly. Luckily, Alma was stabilized and put on the liver transplant list.

In February of 2015 Alma’s parents got the call they had been waiting for. Alma and her mommy were life flighted to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford where a life saving liver transplant was performed. Father and brother followed close behind by car. Alma was in the hospital for about 11 days post transplant following some mild complications. The family was displaced at the wonderful Ronald McDonald house in Palo Alto for about 1.5 months before being allowed to return home to Portland.

Mommy & Daddy are happy to report that, to this point, Alma has not had to return to being inpatient since returning to Portland (knock on wood). She loves to sing, dance, jump and go crazy. She’s precocious as can be and is probably the only 2 year old on the block counting to 20 (thanks to big brother’s help).

No one ever expects to go through something like this. Though the largest hurdles are out of the way, Alma faces a lifetime of medications and precautions to ensure that she takes care of her liver. This is in addition to getting monthly bloodwork, which is painful and scary for a 2 year old girl. On average the family is left with $300 to $500 of expenses per month depending on appointments. This is the family is asking for your help.

Family and friends are raising money to pay for uninsured medical expenses associated with transplantation.

The family has chosen to fundraise with Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility to the full extent of the law for donors. Donors can be sure that funds donated will be used only to pay or reimburse medically-related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Donate Now button.

For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.

Thank you for your support!