Help Support Kasen’s Mom as She Cares for Him After Liver Transplant

In the early morning hours of January 14, 2026, Kasen received his liver transplant. He is now recovering , a long, intense road that requires constant monitoring and care.

Once discharged, Kasen will need to travel to Nashville at least three times a week for labs and imaging to monitor for rejection. The drive from Hopkinsville is over an hour each way. He will also require lifelong medications, some of which are not covered by insurance and are extremely expensive.

Kasen is a fighter. Born on June 26, 2013, Kasen was just over seven weeks old when his mom noticed something wasn’t right. He was extremely jaundiced so much so that he looked like a little glow worm. Concerned, she took him to his pediatrician, Dr. Danielle Foster, who immediately ordered blood work and referred them to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

There, Kasen was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, the rarest chronic liver disease in children and the number one cause of pediatric liver transplants. Kasen was born without working bile ducts or a gallbladder a condition that formed before birth and went undetected.

At just 58 days old, Kasen underwent the Kasai Procedure, a surgery that connects the small intestine directly to the liver to allow bile to drain. After 60 days of age, the success rate of this procedure drops below 25%. Miraculously, Kasen became part of the rare 5% of children who make it beyond two years without needing a transplant.

Against all odds, Kasen has now made it to 12½ years old.

In December, Kasen was hospitalized after experiencing black stools, a sign of a serious gastrointestinal bleed. He required multiple blood transfusions and was discharged, only to return twice more as the bleeding worsened. On January 6, doctors performed a procedure placing coils into fragile blood vessels (varices) that had formed due to his failing liver. While necessary, this was only a temporary solution.

Kasen was officially listed with UNOS for a liver transplant on December 29, 2025, and moved to Status 1B on January 6 due to the severity of his condition. Within a miracle-filled 24-hour period, Kasen received two liver offers. In the early morning hours of January 14, 2026, Kasen received his liver transplant. He is now recovering , a long, intense road that requires constant monitoring and care.