Death blinked in a stare-down with 17-year-old Kelly Cooper of Cabot, but for another family, somewhere, the outcome was reversed.
“We don’t know who they are, we might never know. But our hearts go out to them. We are so grateful for what they did,” dad Jeff Cooper said of the donor of the liver that saved Kelly’s life.
“My eyes have been opened to the need for organ donation,” Cooper said.
The past week has been a roller-coaster ride for the Coopers. Overnight they went from planning the next school year to literally watching Kelly go to death’s door after her liver failed.
Then, almost at the same speed, liver recipient Kelly began an “absolutely amazing” recovery.
“[Kelly] would not have made it to the end of the week,” Jeff Cooper said in telephone interview shortly after Kelly received the donor liver in a pre-dawn operation Thursday.
There is yet no answer to why Kelly’s liver failed, Cooper said. “The term we hear most often is Wilson’s disease, but it has not been diagnosed as that. And we have found out that in 30 or 40 percent of cases like this, they never know what caused it,” he said.
Stepmother Susan Cooper said the failure apparently began about two weeks earlier. “[Kelly] was complaining about not having any energy. She would sleep, but it did not help,” she said.
There was a loss of appetite, and stomach discomfort; a visit to the doctor brought medication for a stomach ailment, Susan said. “But it did not help very much,” she said.
“We ran down some things it could be, mono, even hepatitis, and what to watch for.”
By Thursday, they had decided to go back to the doctor, and plans were set for Jeff to take Kelly to the appointment. Kelly was feeling better and the two of them had stayed up going over her classes for next school year, getting things set to enroll at Arkansas State University at Jonesboro, Susan said.
It was Friday morning that her health took a turn for the worse, Jeff said.
He said he had spoken to Kelly and then went to get ready to go, but less than an hour later, she was seized by intense pain. “We just packed up and left for the hospital,” he said.
After that, he remembers the day for the accelerating stages of fear, Jeff said.
When they arrived at St. Vincent Medical Center-North in Sherwood, Kelly exited the car but immediately doubled over and collapsed, Jeff said. “She was in the door with her head on the seat, that scared me from her. She is not one to cry wolf,” he said.
After helping Kelly to the waiting room, he parked the car. “I got back to her and in that amount of time she had turned yellow,” Jeff said.
A battery of tests were done on her, and after the first results came back, the doctors said Kelly had to go to [Arkansas] Children’s Hospital. “And not by me driving; they said it had to be an ambulance, so now I am really concerned,” Jeff said.
The doctors at ACH did not take long to detect that Kelly needed a new liver. “They came out to talk to us and that was when they said ‘transplant’ for the first time,” Jeff said.
“[Doctors] were saying that Kelly had to get to St. Louis Children’s Hospital before she could get on the transplant list. And I’m [thinking] ‘transplant what?’”
But it was the medical evacuation crew that sent him into high alarm, Jeff said. “They were getting ready and I asked them which helicopter they would be using,” he said.
“They said the helicopter was too slow; there was not enough time; they had to use the jet,” Jeff said. “The fear really hit me then.”
Kelly was visibly, rapidly deteriorating, Susan said. “You could see, hour to hour, that she was getting worse,” she said.
Saturday morning she was responding, by evening she did not recognize people, and then she slipped into a coma.
“It all happened so fast we did not have time to think,” Jeff said.
Back home, Kelly’s friend Kayla Kidd wanted to do something for her, “So I got up one night and started a Facebook page to let everyone know what is happening,” she said.
One of the first posts she made was an invitation to a candlelight prayer vigil to be held for Kelly, Kayla said Aug. 3. Responses came quickly with more than 200 saying they would come and another 100 saying “maybe,” she said.
The invitation asked for people to wear orange. “That’s the color for Wilson’s [disease],” Kayla said.
It was while the vigil was under way that word came that a donor liver was on its way to Kelly.
Wednesday afternoon they learned that a donor liver had come available; the operation was set for 1:45 a.m. Thursday, Jeff said.
“Everything went right, the liver was a perfect match,” Susan said. “You can see the difference already,” she said Thursday.
On Tuesday, Jeff said Kelly’s recovery has been amazing members of the hospital staff.
Kelly was kept sedated for until Saturday evening to keep her quiet and give her body a chance to recuperate, Jeff said. “She started coming around Saturday night.” He said.
She was removed from the ventilator on Sunday, and then it was not long before she was getting out of bed, Jeff said. “Now she is doing laps around the nurses’ station.”
Early estimates are that Kelly will be on outpatient status for at least eight weeks. “We are hoping to go back home sometime in the first week of September,” Jeff said.
“This has really opened my eyes,” Jeff said of his family’s experience.
“As grateful as we are that Kelly’s life has been saved, we know somewhere there is a heartbroken family. Our hearts and our prayers go out to them,” Jeff said.
“And now I understand the need for organ donors,” Jeff said. “I know it’s not for everybody. But if they could see the ward here, see the kids here, see the 11-year-old who needs a transplant,” he said.
What can someone do for Kelly? “Give blood, volunteer or donate for Ronald McDonald House, take the time to talk to someone you haven’t spoken to,” Jeff said.” Don’t waste time with petty arguments that don’t amount to anything,” he said.
Susan said videos of the prayer vigil had been sent for them to see. “Everyone was teary-eyed here,” she said.
Jeff said he had only one question: “I still want to know where they found all those orange shirts in Cabot,” he said.
Kayla said the Prayers for Kelly Cooper account has been set up at Centennial Bank for donations to help the family meet expenses over the coming weeks. Donations also may be made at Page Plus Cellular, 2241 Bill Foster Memorial Highway, Suite A.
More information can be found online at facebook.com on the Prayers for Kelly Cooper page.
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