Looking back, Tirza Wartak’s parents say there were signs something was wrong with their daughter’s health from shortly after birth. The Pictou County ...
Dr. James Shapiro performed the surgery for Tirza Wartak, which will help her live a more normal life. - ContributedLooking back, Tirza Wartak’s parents say there were signs something was wrong with their daughter’s health from shortly after birth.
Testing would show that Sharayah’s family carried a gene mutation referred to as PRSS1 which is tied to chronic pancreatitis. Her father and two of her brothers also have the mutation. The pancreas is supposed to release juices that aid in the digestion of food. For a person with pancreatitis, the pancreas doesn’t always work properly and the digestive juices end up eating away at the pancreas itself.
Shapiro performed Sharayah’s surgery at the University of Edmonton Hospital - the only hospital in Canada that performs this kind of operation. It involves removing the pancreas and several smaller organs in the abdomen and realigning the remaining organs to function without them. As part of the procedure, doctors perform an islet cell transplant, which involves taking cells from the pancreas and implanting them into the liver.
“It’s one of those things that if you know what’s coming, it’s somehow worse than if you know nothing at all,” Mark said. “We couldn’t even sit the bed up or move the bed for the first two or three days because the jarring of that would send her screeching,” Sharayah said.“I remember feeling everything,” Sharayah said. “People think they are helping you by helping you sit up, but in fact, it hurts worse.”
The hard reality soon came that they wouldn’t be able to get home to Pictou County in time for Christmas.
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