Gift of new liver saves baby Michael despite many health scares

Michael Theobald is getting ready to celebrate his first birthday. Without the generous gift of a liver from a grieving family he might never have made it this far.

A series of 11th hour saviours, swooping in to save Michael Theobald from edge of life and death, is now seeing the infant prepare for his first birthday.

Michael’s first lucky break was a slowed heart rate detected at birth. It prompted doctors to send him to another hospital for further tests.

Next it was the first breastmilk he received from mum Sashi. The newborn couldn’t keep anything down.

Michael’s inability to feed nudged doctors to order blood tests. They revealed the levels of ammonia in his blood were at toxic, life-threatening levels.

Michael Theobald, with mum Sashi. Picture: Jay Town

“The breastfeeding and the heart problem initially saved his life,” Ms Theobald said.

“If he had more of my breastmilk I think it would have been too late by the time he reached the Royal Children’s Hospital.”

As they worked to stabilise him in intensive care, Ms Theobald was told her boy had a rare genetic disorder. He lacked one enzyme that prevented him from getting rid of nitrogen from his body.

Babies, especially boys, can become sick so quickly that infants who die in the first week of life, are often found later to have Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency.

And while the condition is managed with medication and a low-protein diet, Michael spent most of his first six months alive in hospital.

“No matter what the team tried to do, he seemed to be going downhill,” she said.

“My son was dying. I couldn’t do anything to save him.”

Baby Michael at the Royal Children's Hospital earlier this year.

It was clear a liver transplant was his only chance of curbing the build-up of ammonia, and with her boy in intensive care at the top of the organ donor transplant waiting list, Ms Theobald was worked up as her son’s donor.

But Michael’s most recent gift came in the form of a new liver; a generous decision made by a grieving family.

“I was ready to get on that operating table on the Thursday, and he got the transplant on the Tuesday,” she said.

“It’s given him a chance to live.

“I think about the donor a lot. I’ll never forget them. My son is proof just how much a liver changes a life.

MORE: HUNDREDS OF DONORS SAVE LIVES

“It’s given him a second chance. He wouldn’t be here without it.”

Michael will celebrate his first birthday on Friday.

As part of DonateLife week, Victorians are encouraged to discuss organ donation with their families and to join the Australian Organ Donor Register.

To register go to donatelife.gov.au

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