BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
![[grimes]](/editions/1998/10/17/liver_200x155.jpg)
Connor Grimes, 2, received a new liver from his mother, Diane.
(Dick Swaim photo)
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UNION TOWNSHIP -- Diane Grimes always said that the day her 2-year-old son Connor ate junk food, she would celebrate.
The party was Thursday.
Connor, on his way back to Butler County from a month-long stay at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, munched on pizza, a happy and healthy toddler. He received a new liver, and a new lease on life, thanks to his mom.
In August, doctors took about 40 percent of Mrs. Grimes' liver and transplanted it into her son, who was born with biliary atresia and had no bile ducts. The condition, which enlarges the liver, is rare and can be cured only with a transplant.
Big welcome
Mother and son, fully recovered, arrived home Thursday. Cars lined the street in front of their Beckett Ridge home, neighbors and co-workers brought food, and the Lakota West High School marching band performed in front of the house. Mrs. Grimes' husband, Randy, organized the homecoming.
"I really didn't suspect anything," said Mrs. Grimes, 32, who had joked with her husband that she wanted a marching band to greet her. "It was such a perfect day for a homecoming."
Greg Snyder, band director at Lakota West, said about 60 students volunteered to play at the house, a moving experience for the kids. Mr. Grimes celebrated his 35th birthday Thursday.
"It's the best birthday present I ever had," he said, as Connor played with his brother, Austin, 4. "I really, really respect Diane so much. She went through a lot of pain."
Long ordeal
The family's homecoming marked the end of a 2-year ordeal which began when Connor was just weeks old. He looked healthy at birth, just a little jaundiced, Mrs. Grimes said. But within a month, doctors told the Grimeses that their newborn would have an unhealthy childhood and might someday need a new liver to survive. The nurse had been crying when she called them into the office.
"It was terrible," Mrs. Grimes said. "It was probably the worst news I've ever gotten in my life. It was April fools' day and I just thought it was the worst joke."
When Connor was a month old, doctors connected his intestines directly to his liver, a short-term solution that bought some time. Because his liver was so large, Connor wouldn't eat and didn't like the taste of food. Physically he was passive, his parents said.
Though his condition was not yet critical, the family wanted to do a transplant while he was still a toddler. Through the Internet, they found a specialist in New York who helped pioneer the transplant procedure.
In July, Mrs. Grimes underwent tests that showed she was a match. The procedure was done Aug. 11. The liver is able to regenerate itself, so about half of hers was given to Connor.
"I didn't have any fear," she said. "I was afraid of how everything (would go) with Connor."
Though she was was out of the hospital in a week, her son still had several weeks of follow-up visits. The family stayed with her sister in Connecticut, and at least one parent was with Connor.
Co-workers covered Mr. Grimes' State Farm Insurance office here so he could spend time with his family. Clients and fellow insurance agents sent cards. Neighbors and strangers prayed.
The experience has led the family to encourage people to become organ donors.
"Now that I've got my baby (well), I want to help other people," Mrs. Grimes said. "It's terrible that more people don't sign organ donor cards."
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![[grimes]](/editions/1998/10/17/liver_550x425.jpg)