GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Sadie Johnson, a 6-month-old from Gaston County, is recovering in a Pittsburgh hospital after surviving seven surgeries and two rare medical conditions.
The infant, who received a liver transplant in June, is currently battling a rare complication where donor cells have begun attacking her own body.
Sadie reached her 6-month birthday today while being treated in a specialty unit in Pennsylvania.
The daughter of a Gaston County police officer, she has spent the last two months hospitalized far from home.
Her mother, Mariah Johnson, said the milestone carries significant weight given the severity of the infant’s health struggles.
The medical crisis began during Memorial Day weekend when Sadie was rushed to the hospital.
Doctors discovered that her gallbladder and bile duct had not formed properly, a condition they said affects less than 1% of infants. Sadie required a liver transplant to survive.
Following the diagnosis, the family moved to a hospital in Pittsburgh that specializes in liver transplants. Mariah Johnson emphasized the uncertainty of the waiting process.
“You can’t predict when a liver will come available,” Mariah Johnson said. A donor organ became available in June just as the infant’s condition became dire.
Although Sadie was briefly discharged following the surgery, she suffered a setback within a day.
“The first time she was discharged, we made it 12 hours out of the hospital, and she had a couple of seizures for the first time ever,” Mariah Johnson explained.
The current complication involves donor cells reacting against Sadie’s tissue. “Cells that are left in the donor liver recognize her body as foreign, and that’s basically attacking her body,” Mariah Johnson said.
She noted that while this condition requires more time in the hospital hundreds of miles from home, it is treatable.
Mariah Johnson, who previously joked that she was once afraid of a cesarean section, remarked on the resilience her daughter has shown through seven surgeries.
“For a while we never thought we would make it to this point,” Mariah Johnson expressed. “Like I can cry just thinking about how bad she was and how well she’s doing now.” She added that her daughter is “stronger than me for sure.”
Mariah Johnson said she hopes the family will be able to return home to Gaston County in a few weeks.
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