By admin 
GASTON COUNTY, N.C. (WJZY) — A Gaston County police officer is hundreds of miles from home as she stays by her newborn daughter’s side following a rare diagnosis that required a life-saving transplant.
Read more The factors which could take ‘rebuilt’ Lewis Hamilton to the F1 title after long-awaited win
Sadie Johnson was born Feb. 7, and for the first two months of her life, her parents said everything appeared normal.
“We’re first-time parents — we had never heard of biliary atresia,” said her mother, Mariah Johnson.
In April, Sadie’s pediatrician diagnosed her with biliary atresia, a rare liver disease that affects infants. She was rushed to Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte before being flown to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for specialized care.
Sadie received a liver transplant earlier this month and is now recovering.
“We don’t know their names or anything like that, but we hope to get to thank them properly in the future,” Johnson said, referring to the donor. “Their selfless donation quite literally saved Sadie’s life.”
Read more The Knicks made a championship run that will be remembered in New York and in NBA history
Doctors have told the family it could be about three months before Sadie is able to return home.
Johnson, who works for the Gaston County Police Department, has been away from work since her daughter’s birth as she remains with Sadie during recovery.
She said support from family, friends, and the community has been critical.
“The prayers have been amazing,” Johnson said. “We wouldn’t have been able to make it through without the support that we’ve received from our families and from the community.”
To help with medical expenses, members of the community have organized a 5K run and walk scheduled for Saturday, June 27.
Read more Taylor Hall-Logan Stankoven-Jackson Blake line is a big reason Carolina won the Stanley Cup
You can donate to the family’s GoFundMe here.