LITTLE MIRACLE GIRL THRIVES AFTER TRANSPLANT.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer LANCASTER - Three years after a liver transplant liver transplant Hepatic transplant Transplant surgery A procedure that replaces a cancer conquered, metabolically defeated, or substance subjugated liver with one no longer required by its owner, many of whom donate same after an MVA Diseases requiring transplant saved Lydia Hand, the preschooler pre·school·er n. 1. A child who is not old enough to attend kindergarten. 2. A child who is enrolled in a preschool. Noun 1. is a model daughter and continues to amaze her parents. Playful and energetic, the Lancaster 3 1/2-year-old shows no sign she was facing death when doctors transplanted into her a 5-by-3-inch section of her grandmother's liver. ``If you looked at her, you'd never know she'd been so sick,'' said grandmother Sherry Marquez. ``It's such a miracle they can take a little piece of liver from somebody and put it in a small child and they get well.'' When Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. held a reunion last week for its young liver transplant patients, Lydia was the star of the party. Her 1998 surgery was the first at the hospital in which a child received a transplant from a living relative, rather than a deceased donor. Lydia is doing well, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. both her mother and doctors. ``She's a normal 3 1/2-year-old. She's completely normal, except she takes medicine everyday,'' said her mother, Nicole. Dr. Yuri Genyk, surgical director of the hospital's Pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. Liver Transplant Program, said the liver will continue to grow with Lydia. The liver is the only human organ able to regenerate itself. Lydia's grandmother, who was 44 when she gave up a piece of her liver, said she has no ill-effects from her sacrifice, other than an occasional tenderness in one spot if she overexerts herself. ``Normally it doesn't bother me a bit,'' Marquez said. Lydia was born with biliary atresia Biliary Atresia Definition Biliary atresia is the failure of a fetus to develop an adequate pathway for bile to drain from the liver to the intestine. , a congenital condition in which the biliary ducts fail to develop. Lethargic and with a yellowish tint to her skin, she underwent an initial surgery when she was 2 months old in an attempt to fabricate ducts. That didn't work. Doctors recommended a transplant. When it looked like no donor would show up in time, the family was tested. Her mother's blood type did not match. The liver of Lydia's father, Scott, who works in the information technology department for Countrywide Home Mortgage in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , was too big. Marquez, Nicole's mother, became the choice, with Scott's mother, Linda Hand, as a backup. Life with their daughter since the surgery has been a joy, said Nicole, who is now caring for Lydia's little 4-month-old brother, Mark. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Lydia Hand, 3, sits with her grandmother Sherry Marquez, who donated a part of her liver, at a hospital reunion for transplant patients. (2) Dr. Yuri Genyk greets Lydia Hand, 3, who received a liver transplant at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. (3) Lydia Hand, 3, shares a moment with Santa - aka Dr. Yuri Genyk, who performed Lydia's surgery - during a holiday party for transplant patients at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Michael Owen
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