‘It’s a lot of risk, and it’s scary’: 11-year-old Nebraska girl waits for liver transplant

MARTELL, Neb. (KLKN) – An 11-year-old girl from rural Lancaster County is waiting for a liver transplant.

Jessie Roush, a sixth grader, was living a normal life up until a couple of months ago.

But in October, one doctor’s appointment changed her life.

“We found out there were a lot of other things going on, and they were very concerned about her liver because it wasn’t showing good functionality,” said Julie Roush, Jessie’s mother.

After a lot of testing, the family found out Jessie has autoimmune hepatitis, which is a rare condition in which the body attacks the liver.

Then, on Nov. 2, Jessie was rushed to Children’s Nebraska hospital in Omaha.

Doctors found that the young girl had internal bleeding.

She was diagnosed with yet another rare condition, which affects her bile ducts in and around her liver.

Jessie needed to be put on the transplant list.

“When they told us she had to have a transplant, it’s a lot of risk, and it’s scary,” Julie Roush said.

Jessie spent a couple weeks in the hospital, and she said there were times when it got overwhelming.

“I just remember we got through 10 pokes or something, and I was just like, ‘I can’t do it anymore,'” Jessie said. “And my mom was just saying, ‘If you don’t do this, you will die.'”

But through it all, she has kept her spirits high, and her humor has not gone away.

She is especially happy to be home in time for the holidays and eat her favorite meals again.

“Yes! We had lasagna the very night we came back,” she said.

Julia is being tested to see if she can donate part of her own liver to her daughter.

But for now, Jessie is eagerly awaiting the call when a liver is ready for her.

All of these procedures have not been cheap, and with a possible transplant on the horizon, the expenses are adding up.

The Roush family said they were not approved for financial aid through the hospital.

But the one bright spot has been the community rallying around them.

A GoFundMe has raised around $40,000 for the family.

And Jessie’s friends and teachers have played a big role in helping the family through the tough time.

“Especially right now, when times are tight, it’s so humbling because it’s just something we didn’t expect,” Julia Roush said. “We were fully prepared to bite it down and figure things out, but it’s just been a blessing to see people help us, people we don’t even know.”

And Jessie is grateful to see that she has made an impact on the people around her.

“It was just so great to know that people care,” she said.