SPOKANE, Wash. — After undergoing her second liver transplant at only three years old, Sophia Evans’ father and her two older sisters were involved in a car crash that totaled the family’s only form of transportation for the little girl’s medical needs.
“You know you have to be strong, there’s nothing else you can do besides be strong – but you do whatever it takes to make sure everybody is ok,” Kelly Cunningham said.
In the beginning, life seemed normal for Kelly Cunningham and her daughter, Sophia.
“She was born August 6, 2020 – we didn’t know anything was wrong, because I had an amniocentesis done, and it said I was going to have a happy, healthy baby girl,” Cunningham said.
However, shortly after she was born, Cunningham realized Sophia’s complexion was off; her skin was yellow, and it stayed that way for more than two months after she came into the world.
Cunningham took her daughter to the hospital, and soon she was diagnosed with a rare condition.
“Biliary atresia, which is where there’s blockages in the bile ducts of your liver, so the bile just builds up,” Cunningham said. “So, we started her transplant journey.”
In November 2021, Sophia underwent her first liver transplant at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She was only one year old. Right after her procedure, things were looking up for the little girl – but quickly, her condition took a turn. Sophia’s body rejected the liver transplant entirely; Cunningham said she had to have multiple surgeries and biopsies, plus a biliary drain put in so her body could excrete the built-up bile as much as it could. Sophia also had to have a biliary reconstruction where doctors went in and reattached her small intestine to her liver, then split the connections to the liver.
A heartbreaking start to life; Sophia’s skin started to turn bright yellow – the whites of her eyes, too. Sophia’s body stayed that way for a long time, until good news came.
Fast-forward to July 18 of this year, when Sophia was able to undergo her second liver transplant. Thankfully, this procedure has proven to be very successful so far. The little girl is happy, clapping and wiggling in her mother’s arms, just like a healthy toddler would.
“She’s doing really good from a transplant standpoint,” Cunningham said. “She’s stable, she’s happy, she’s growing, she’s gaining weight. Still behind a bit developmentally, but for the most part she is doing awesome.”
For three months after each transplant, Cunningham and Sophia were required to stay in Seattle so the medical team could monitor the little girl’s progress.
And it was just before the two were able to return home to their family in Spokane, that Cunningham received gut-wrenching news.
“It was September 30 – I got a call from my fiancé, he said he had been in an accident,” Cunningham said. “A car blew through the side street and hit them in the backside of the car, spun them around in circles and put them up on the sidewalk.”
Cunningham’s fiancé, Trent, their seven-year-old daughter, Lillian, and Cunningham’s nine-year-old daughter, Hope, were in the car. Luckily, everyone is ok. However, Cunningham said their car is beyond repair; the bumper, totaled, the left back tire caved in, the airbags deployed.
And that car was the family’s only form of transportation to get little Sophia back to Seattle at least twice a month for routine medical check-ups.
“And so now, we’re stranded trying to find a vehicle that’s reliable and good in the snow, because we have to go over that pass a minimum of twice a month,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham said expenses are too high right now for the family to buy a new car, so today, they’re looking for a donated vehicle. Perfect scenario? An SUV or van with all-wheel drive, smooth operation, and third-row seating so all the kids can fit inside.
After everything Cunningham’s family has been through the last three years, from Sophia’s liver transplants to last month’s car crash, this mom is putting on a brave face in the face of adversity.
But she’s asking for the community’s help.
“Having enough energy to go through life on a daily basis is hard enough as it is, and then everything that you throw on top of it is just insurmountable,” Cunningham said.
If you know of any vehicles that match the description of what this family is looking for, please contact NonStop Local’s Ava Wainhouse.
In the meantime, a GoFundMe has been set up for the family to raise funds to purchase studded snow tires for whatever car they do find, to get through the winter travel months. Click here for the link to donate.
