On October 17, 2022,

Our son Jayce Robert Reyes was born and brought into our lives. It was such an amazing moment to see and hear him for the first time. We were discharged 3 days later but our pediatrician wanted us to keep an eye on his Bilirubin Levels. As the weeks went by his Conjugated Bilirubin levels kept increasing and our Pediatrician was concerned for Neonatal Cholestasis. He became more jaundice and his stools were pale. Both of us are nurses and we understand the severity of the symptoms at such a young age. Everything filled our minds, Biliary Atresia, Alagille syndrome, Kasai procedure, possible liver transplant in the future, etc. As new parents going through the daily tasks of caring for a newborn and having to be strong for our son, it was the most frightening time for us. He then proceeded to get a HIDA scan which then led to a Liver Biopsy. Everything was going towards possible liver transplant…

A couple days after the liver biopsy, we noticed Jayce’s stools starting to change and we got a call from our GI doctor with news that his levels are starting to trend in the right direction. Right before the Christmas holidays his conjugated bilirubin levels were finally near normal range. It was the best Christmas miracle, and we are so blessed to say that Jayce is thriving and we just celebrated his First Birthday worry free. We are truly blessed but some others can’t say the same. So our family would like to raise money every year to provide support for the pediatric liver department to help the families and little ones to enjoy the holidays during tough times. We both work as nurses for UCLA Health and are truly grateful for the care and support Jayce received during this tough time. All proceeds will be donated to UCLA Pediatric Liver department each year during the holidays to help aid families financially, provide gifts for the kids, and for meals. Our Goal is $5000 this year and would like to increase it each year. Anything helps and is truly appreciated. Let us spread our holiday spirit and love to our strong babies.

Happy Holidays,

Andrew, Paulene, and Jayce Reyes