BRANTFORD Isabella Church never got to meet her hero Nicholas Spencer.
But he lives inside of her and on Friday evening in Mohawk Park, Church, 19, of Brantford met her hero’s mother, Kelly Spencer of Cambridge.
“It’s like something out of a dream,” Church said. “Something I’ve always imagined. It’s amazing, like a dream come true.”
Nicholas was just 16 when he got badly injured while riding his long board. He hit the back of his head and was sent to McMaster Children’s Hospital where he remained for a few days, Kelly explained.
He appeared to be doing better and there was a thought that he could return home. But he took a turn for the worse and the brain damage was just too severe and he died December 10, 2014.
A day later, the medical team recovered his organs.
“He was amazing, he had a big personality that’s for sure,” Spencer said. “He was popular and a lot of fun, always playing tricks on people.
“But he was also very kind and generous, helping people was a big part of his personality.”
While Nicholas was in McMaster fighting for his life, Church was in a Toronto hospital awaiting a liver transplant.
Just after she was born, Church was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a disease that damages the bile duct and prevents bile from leaving the liver. She had a liver transplant when she was just five months and the new organ worked well for almost a decade.
But in 2012, doctors discovered during a routine appointment that Church, then 11, had cirrhosis of the liver. Medication kept her stable but she was soon put on the list for a new liver.
At that time, Isabella was able to do a lot of different things including riding her bike. But the illness progressed and she had to be taken to hospital numerous times.
“She (Isabella) had a very difficult year in 2014,” Church’s mother, Wendy Colton said. “She was sick for a long time and then she couldn’t do a lot of the things she enjoyed like riding her bike.
“The way it was described to us, it was like she had a water balloon inside of her and if that anything came in contact with it, it could burst.”
As a result, Isabella spent more time doing board games and arts and crafts – activities that were low-risk.
“We wanted to protect her but we didn’t want her to live in a bubble either,” Colton said.
When Nicholas died, Isabella received his liver through a transplant operation.
The two families recently connected through social media and arranged to meet at Mohawk Park.
“Being here today is emotional,” Spencer said. “It’s beautiful. It makes me feel a lot better and it’s incredible to meet Isabella and her family.”
It was also emotional for Colton.
“I’m forever grateful and connected to Kelly and her family,” Colton said. “Without her family, my daughter would not be sitting here today.
“I know what the cost of this gift was. It was the gift of life and there is no thank you big enough.”
Colton said she can see the happiness in her daughter’s eyes and she well understands what Kelly and her family have endured.
People like Kelly and her family make the world a better place, Colton said.
“It’s incredible to think that one person can save so many lives,” she said. “But you never imagine that you are going to meet the person who saved your life or the life of a loved one.”
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