Aunt's heroics save nephew's life

HURON — In the ultimate sign of compassion and dedication, an aunt willingly stepped up to, ideally, ensure her young nephew can live a long and healthy life. After conducting several tests, medical professionals learned Taylor Dearth qualified as a perfect match for a liver transplant candidate with her nephew, Crew Dearth, 1. For the past few months, Crew faced many challenges after being diagnosed with stage 4 hepatoblastoma. It's an aggressive form of liver cancer, which did spread to other parts of his body. Beginning in March, he received around-the-clock treatment, including at the Cleveland Clinic, undergoing intense procedures, like chemotherapy, to shrink and/or remove large tumors on his liver, which had extended to his right lung. Even though chemotherapy decreased the tumor in his lungs, clearing him of cancer, "He still needed the transplant because the tumor was still deep in his hepatic portal vein," said Crew's mother, Nicole Dearth. The vein carries blood from the intestines, gallbladder, pancreas and spleen and delivers it to the liver. Finding a liver donor represented Crew's best chances to fully overcome these troubles. Survival rates vary, but they greatly increase when someone with stage 4 hepatoblastoma undergoes a liver transplant surgery. After completing many rigorous, preliminary examinations, Taylor, who lives in Huron, and Crew, from Clyde, got cleared for surgery. Admitted into the Cleveland Clinic on June 29, one day later, they underwent the major operation. While scary for some, Taylor never hesitated to volunteer herself — and, potentially, her life — to save someone she loves so much. "As soon as I learned that Crew might require a transplant, I felt a strong urge to become his living donor," Taylor said. "Being a mom of three, l've come to know what it means to love unconditionally and to put someone else's needs above your own. When I found out that I was Crew's potential match, it was an instant 'yes,' and there was never any hesitation after that." Doctors noted the surgery couldn't have gone better, bringing relief to the Dearths. Regarding Crew, "He was so calm going down," said Nicole, who's Taylor's sister-in-law. "He was so peacefully calm all the way. He was so brave. So was Taylor, too." Both Taylor and Crew remain in high spirits as they recover. "I wanted to somehow ease Crew and our family's pain, and while I understood that I couldn't eliminate it entirely, I felt that becoming Crew's donor would be a meaningful way to support him and our family during this challenging battle," Taylor said. "No child should ever endure the pain and suffering that Crew has faced, and I was determined to do whatever I could to ensure he has the childhood he truly deserves." Nicole, eternally grateful for Taylor's willingness, also extended her appreciation to the medical professionals for keeping her family safe during this difficult period. "We trusted them without a doubt," Nicole said. "They performed a difficult transplant as they reconstructed a brand-new hepatic portal vein." Showing her selflessness, upon waking up after a daylong surgery, the first words Taylor shared weren't about herself or her well-being. They were about her nephew. "How is Crew?" she said late into the night on June 30. It brought tears to Nicole's eyes. "She only cared how he was doing in surgery, as she just had a major surgery herself," Nicole said. "It was so touching to just know how much love she had for him." Who is Crew? Crew's parents, Nicole and Chad, describe Crew, as "the sweetest, loving, snuggly baby." "He loves to be goofy and loves to laugh," Nicole said. "He enjoys playing with any toy, especially anything to do with a ball." Crew also enjoys playing with his three older siblings — Knox, Harper and Ensley — already growing quite fond of them. While in a basket, he shrieks sounds of delight whenever they pull him around their home in Clyde. And, despite waves of adversity afflicting Crew, he's still a bubbly, curious boy, which gives those closest to him hope and inspiration in their continued fight. Earlier this year, they noticed something not quite right with their then-newborn. Coming down with a case of Influenza A on Feb. 17, "He never was the same baby after that," Nicole said. Her mother's intuition kicked into overdrive. "It was lasting a long time, I felt, so we had several doctor appointments because something seemed off," she said. "I just knew something was wrong." Nicole and Chad swiftly took action. Exactly one month later, on March 17 — after many CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds lab work and a biopsy — doctors at the Cleveland Clinic diagnosed Crew with stage 4 hepatoblastoma. He acted fussy for weeks, stemming from severe abdominal pain caused by large tumors on his liver, metastasizing, or extending, to his right lung. Doctors determined he's got at least four nodules, or small lumps, on his right lung. "This has been a very shocking and devastating time," Nicole said. "We never would think our baby would be diagnosed with a very rare cancer at 11 months old. It's incredibly difficult to come to terms with what our baby has." Shortly into his hospital stay, doctors alluded to Crew needing a major operation, such as a liver transplant, to save his life. Crew's caring crew Because Crew still requires constant treatment, Nicole has stayed by his side on a 24/7 basis. Chad, meanwhile, had split time between the hospital and their home. For the past five months, the parents, in large part, remained away from their other three children so they could be with Crew. This, in turn, created another set of stressful and upsetting emotions for all involved. "It's also been super hard to be away from our other three children and having their normal lives taken away so quickly," Nicole said. "They have dealt with this very well." Nicole repeatedly thanked her inner circle of family members — especially Taylor — and friends, who all "have been absolutely wonderful and such a huge help with the kids, our house and dogs. I don't know what we would do without the amazing support we have had from all of them. So, with their support, it has made the transition a little easier." To chronicle her family's journey, she started a Facebook group — called Crew's Fight Club — which provides full and constant updates about her son. Many people — including those affiliated with the Facebook group, the Sandusky Bay Scrappers, Jasmine Buckner of Lounge Salon and Spa in Bellevue, first responders representing Clyde and Fremont's fire departments and others — stepped up by organizing fundraisers to help the family through this difficult time. "It's heartbreaking to think of the struggles he's facing, and I want to be a part of bringing some light into his life and his family's during this challenging time," Buckner said. "I truly believe that kindness, compassion and support can help ease the pain and bring a little more strength to his journey." Nicole appreciates the overwhelming support she and her family have received from so many people. "Any donation goes toward Crew's medical costs, our travel expenses — as we are back and forth from the Cleveland Clinic — and home," Nicole said. "We both had to take time away from work to be able to take care of Crew with all the hospital admissions, chemotherapy, treatments, doctors' appointments, lab visits, radiology appointments, other infusions needed and preparing for surgery and chemo to follow surgery again." Nicole, however, isn't asking anyone to donate money. Truly, all she wants is for others to keep Crew in their thoughts. "People can pray for our little Crewman. That honestly means so much to us," she said. What's next? Following the liver transplant, Crew — who, like Taylor, also underwent a daylong operation — stayed in the clinic's intensive care unit for nearly a week before being moved to the oncology floor. "He had some small hiccups, with close monitoring, but everything went well, and he is healing great," Nicole said. "He finally got to go home after 12 days in the hospital." Crew's now almost three weeks post-operation. He now gets to recover in the comfort of his family's home. "The doctors are pleased at how well he is doing. They said he is sailing smoothly," Nicole said. It's a huge breakthrough, Nicole said, considering, "The first 100 days are very crucial, lots of things can happen: rejection, infection, bile leaks, to name a few. He is on a lot of medications. He will be in one of those for the rest of his life. So his immune system will be compromised, which means a lot of lifestyle precautions." Crew still needs to undergo at least three additional cycles of chemotherapy, which begin on Monday. "This is called clean-up chemo," said Nicole, noting there's a small chance for a relapse even with these proper follow-up treatments. It's "to make sure we get any cancer that's microscopic left." Before, during and after those upcoming appointments, she'll routinely think about Taylor's kind nature. "When Taylor told us she was the person getting evaluated to be a possible match, I was shocked and not expecting it," Nicole said. "I felt so overwhelmed with so many emotions. I felt wow, she would do this for my baby-save his life while putting hers at risk. I was worried for her." Married herself, Taylor has three young daughters. "I was fearful of something happening to her during such a big surgery. I worried about it every day, but I knew how important this was to her and how strongly she desired to do this for Crew," Nicole said. "It's the most selfless, most loving thing a person can do for someone. I was emotional thinking what a beautiful person she was to do this for my baby: She was going to save his life." Nicole described Taylor as "a real, true hero." "I still to this day feel so overwhelmed with emotion of the beautiful life, a second chance she gave my child. The doctors raved at what a healthy, beautiful liver and what a perfect match she was for Crew," Nicole said. "We will never be able to thank her enough for going on this journey in saving Crew. We've been fighting, and she is the one who is ultimately saving him. We will be forever grateful for our beautiful Taylor." Want to help? An online fundraiser seeks to provide Crew Dearth's family with financial relief. People can visit gofundme.com and search for the fundraiser "Join Crew's Fight Against Cancer," which was created by Alaina Carlson.