Abby Lewis says her 1-year old son, Ryan, is a real character.

“He is happy, and when we take him out, he loves people,” she said. “He is always smiling.”

Ryan just celebrated his birthday and, considering what occurred shortly after his birth, that’s a miracle.

Abby had a high-risk pregnancy, so she delivered him at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma.

“We thought everything was fine when he was in utero, just a healthy baby, but when he was born, within a few hours, he was having serious issues,” she said.

Hospital staff members cleared Ryan to go home after they diagnosed him with jaundice, but six days later, he was seen at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, then transferred to Children’s Hospital in Seattle, where he was diagnosed with a life-threatening liver problem.

Abby said Ryan underwent several weeks of testing in Seattle before they discovered a blood clot had formed in utero and cut off the blood supply to his liver.

“He was a few days from dying when they put him at the top of the transplant list,” Abby said.

Ryan got a liver within three days. He weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces when he was born, and 6 pounds when he received the transplant during a 12-hour surgery.

Abby and husband Justin said they are grateful to the family of the child whose liver was donated to Ryan.

“When you think of the fact that they were going through the most difficult time of their life, and then they thought clearly enough to save our child,” Abby said.

Ryan did have some expected complications after surgery when his body began to reject the liver, but doctors readjusted his medication and got him back on the road to recovery.

A virus landed him back in the hospital for a time, but his health issues seem to be ironing out.

Abby said members of her Mothers of Preschoolers group at Puyallup Nazarene Church were supportive during the difficult process. They collected money and brought the family food on a regular basis, she said.

Justin started a new job at Revalesio, a biotechnology company in Tacoma, right after Ryan’s transplant, and he said his new employer and co-workers were extremely generous with donations.

Abby said when family members and friends gathered recently to celebrate Ryan’s first birthday, it had more than a “birthday” feel to it.

Joan Cronk is a freelance reporter for The Herald