Grateful parents express gratitude to care team eight months after pivotal transplant surgery: “We have our girl back”

A few weeks ago, Bethany Powell was all smiles as a flower girl in her big sister’s wedding – a stark contrast to the complete despair her family was experiencing when they arrived at CHoR back in May. Bethany’s family recently moved and she continues to receive outstanding care in their new home town, but they haven’t forgotten about their team in Richmond.

The CHoR and Hume-Lee Transplant Center teams were thrilled to start the new year out with this beautiful email update from Bethany’s family:

Hello friends. I wanted to take a moment and send you a picture of Bethany. She was recently able to participate as a flower girl in her older sister’s wedding. 

There are no adequate words to thank you all for the love, care and kindness with which you treated our daughter. We never imagined we would get this quality of life back. At the time we reached VCU we were desperate for help. We were at one of the lowest points of our lives. Our daughter had zero quality of life. We had zero quality of life. 

We believe with all our hearts that Bethany is getting her life back because of the TP-IAT surgery. After months of a very difficult recovery, she has not had any further pain episodes, and very limited nausea. She’s eating more variety and more volume than she’s eaten in her entire life. She is excited to start back to school soon. We are super encouraged about her special ed classroom and the amount of services available. The future looks bright.

Thank you for stepping out to help our daughter. Thank you for the tender care you provided for a very weary mama and family. Thank you for ALL the ways you rallied to help, to fight, to advocate and to persevere in a challenging case. We have our girl back.

For Bethany’s team, this letter hits the heart of the matter.

We are deeply grateful for the trust the Powell family put in the VCU team to help their daughter. Helping children return to a full and joyous life is what we work and live for.

Dr. Marlon Levy

Read more about Bethany’s health care journey and the help her family found at CHoR.