When the parents of baby girl Sloan St. James noticed that her skin was yellowing and her belly was swelling, they immediately knew something was wrong. While it is common for newborn babies to experience a bit of jaundice, this was ominous. “We called it her little Buddha belly,” Sarah St. James told Boston 25 News.
The situation quickly turned serious. Sloan was rushed to Boston Children’s Hospital and was diagnosed with an awful case of biliary atresia. She remained under the care of medical professionals for a further two weeks, who advised that Sloan required a liver transplant as soon as possible.
That’s when New Hampshire police officer Lt. Steven Tenney stepped in to help. He became aware of Sloan’s situation after his brother directed him to some Facebook posts about her situation. He felt compelled to act.
“If you can help a 4-month-old baby, you kind of have to do it,” Tenney told the news outlet.
Incredibly, despite having not visited the doctors in over a decade, he was a perfect match. It would be the first surgery he would ever undergo, and it would save the life of this sick little girl. “We had so many people praying for us and for Sloan, and to hear that we had a match and that surgery was going to happen in a couple days was a miracle,” Sarah James told Boston 25 News. “It was like all our prayers had been answered.”
Just a few months later the police officer got to meet Sloan, who now has about 19 percent of his liver.
“Sloan means ‘warrior,'” St. James told Boston Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Blog. “We didn’t think she would need to be a warrior at such a young age — but she showed us she is.”
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