About Aria
Aria MacDonald
Aria is an amazing three-and-a-half year old little girl from Manurewa, Auckland, New Zealand.  Aria received her gift of life on the 6th of February 2010, a small bowel, kidney, liver and pancreas transplant at the Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha, USA.  Sadly the new intestine has rejected and Aria was relisted on the organ transplant list on the 27th of April 2010.  Aria received her 2nd gift of life on Mothers Day 9th May 2010.
Aria’s story begins after birth when she was diagnosed with a very rare condition of the bowel known as total intestinal aganglionosis or total Hirschsprung’s disease. There is no cure and it means she will never be able to digest food.
Total intestinal aganglionosis is where there are no nerves cell throughout the entire bowel to squeeze the food along to be digested. Hirschsprungs is common where a portion of the bowel contains no nerves and can be fixed by removing the effected portion of bowel and reconnecting the healthy remaining bowel. Aria’s form of the disease means this is not an option because there is no healthy bowel.
This news was devastating to her parents Hamish and Anita who were told that nothing could be done to save their baby. It looked like the end of the journey for Aria but really it was the start of something amazing. Dear friends visited the next day and brought hope. That hope was the possibility of a bowel transplant and also the idea of Aria going home on TPN (total parental nutrition).
Aria has now lives at home with Mum and Dad and receives her ‘food’ thru her Hickman line in her shoulder directly into her blood stream. She also has a gastrostomy that drains her stomach of the bile that has no where to go.
Life is not straight forward however. Aria faces the threat of line infections as bugs can easily get into Aria’s blood stream thru her Hickman line. Connecting her to TPN each night must be done under sterile conditions to avoid this. TPN is also very hard on the liver. For babies that live only on TPN the risk of liver failure is high leading to death. Up until December 2008 Aria had perfect liver numbers but now her liver is struggling.
There is also a problem with Aria’s kidneys. Her condition is because of a genetic flaw in her DNA which has also caused her kidneys to be unusually small. This causes abnormal kidney function as her small kidneys are struggling to keep up with her growth. Because of this she will also need a kidney transplant.
Bowel Transplant
Aria’s only hope of long term survival and a chance to eat rests in small bowel, liver, pancreas and kidney transplant.  These organs have come from a single child donor whose family made a brave and difficult decision to donate life at a desperately terrible time.  This operation is not done in NZ or Australia but the best place is America with the cost of $1-$2 million US dollars. It is still a risky operation but the odds of survival are getting better as advances in medical knowledge continue.
Her family and friends are busy fundraising  for the cost of living in America with no income for 1-2 years.  The NZ Government/tax payer is covering the cost of Aria’s medical care and accommodation.  Please consider some of the many ways in which you can help out or support Aria and her family.
Aria is a bright smiley little girl who handles the trials in her life amazingly well. Her life is a precious gift from God who is taking the MacDonald family on a journey according to His great purposes.
27 Responses to “About Aria”
Leave a Reply
Support Aria
There are many ways that you can support Aria.
- Bank deposit
- Cheque by post
- Contact us directly
Subscribe to updates
Fundraising progress
Aria's support to date:
Progress meter: 75%
Links
- Gifts from Heaven
A group of kids who have had or waiting on bowel/liver/stomach transplants - Hirschsprung’s disease
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Starship Children’s Health
The hospital that takes great care of Aria - The Kids Foundation of NZ
The wonderful charity that supports Aria
# 14 Apr at 3:05 am
Good luck Aria! Hamish and Anita, we wish you all the best in helping your beautiful little girl. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Loe and light
Jo, Rick, Cadeyrn (6), Tallen (5), Dallandra (3) and Alira (10mths).
xxx
# 23 Apr at 2:31 am
God has blessed you with a beautiful little girl and God will take care of her.
# 8 May at 1:25 am
Bless you, your family, and your beautiful Aria…
My daughter Katie was born with HD and diagnosed at 8 weeks of age. She lost 18.5 cm of colon after pull-through surgery.
Aria and your family will be in my family’s prayers…
Heather
# 22 Jun at 9:20 am
God Bless from HuskerNation.
# 10 Aug at 10:15 am
God bless you wee Aria, and may I say you look like a Macdonald, really beautiful , I wish you all the best.
# 30 Aug at 8:05 am
30.8.09
I am leading worship in our church tomorrow, and wanted to back up what I was saying, and strength for the day bright hope for tomorrow came into my head …….. so I googled and your story came up.
You have a beautiful daughter ……… I pray His strength for you every day, and a bright hope of healing for tomorrow.
All things are possible with Him.
God bless all of you ……… delighted to see you have another child, Boy or girl? I am sorry I cannot tell by the name alone.
With love
Eve
# 24 Oct at 8:03 pm
Aria on the telly - Aria MacDonald says:[...] You can read more about Aria HERE [...]
# 9 Dec at 8:50 am
helllllooooooo
# 10 Dec at 2:38 am
Great article and great site. I know I’m not a perfect parent so I’m always looking for great ideas and tips on how to improve.
# 19 Dec at 8:46 am
Wow you are an absolute beautiful girl, look at those eyes,! god bless you sweetheart, keep going strong.
xox
# 3 Jan at 2:45 am
Sending lots of prays for little Aria and her family. She is beautiful. I am from Liver Families and wanted to show you my support. My son has Biliary Atresia.
We are from Australia, and my mother and step father are in NZ right now on holidays, my mum just ended up in hospital over there, she was very impressed with the hospital, said it was great. (Not that she wanted to be there!)
Again…..sending prays.
Belinda.
# 9 Jan at 9:15 am
Your little Aria is a true inspiration. My own Auria had a heart defect when she was born, in July 08.. which was corrected at 3 months old. I can only hope for as wonderful of an outcome as we have had, for your little Aria. Such a pretty little girl with such a beautiful name
You are in our thoughts.
# 25 Feb at 10:15 pm
I watch out for Arias post everyday. I pray that she will continue to improve and you are all a testament to God’s glory and healing.
# 26 Feb at 4:09 pm
I have just found out about Aria and her family’s plight.
Above my dining room table I have a photo of a beautiful sunset. The caption below it is, “Lord help me to understand that nothing is going to happen to me today, that you and I can’t handle together.” He has been with me during my kidney transplant and other major surgeries. I know He is beside you, to help you all through this tough time. May God Bless You.
# 17 Apr at 4:06 pm
I have just found out about Aria and her family on a program that was viewed this morning, it was called Attitude. I found it was just amazing the strength and courage of this little girl, and her parents. Our thoughts and heart go out to you all, god bless. xoxo.
# 17 Apr at 4:19 pm
I like Gail watched this mornings episode of Attitude, and saw a family with tremendous strength during a time of need. We are all watching and send our best wishes.
# 25 Apr at 6:28 pm
Hi Aria
What a brave little girl!!! My wife Leigh and I watched you on TV “Attitude” last week.
A big hi from Auckland New Zealand!!
We wish you all the very best and have made a donation that can help.
Regards
# 29 Apr at 8:33 pm
What an amazing little girl. I wish you all the best for the future.
# 22 May at 3:11 pm
I just watched your programme on T.V. (Attitude) and I just wanted to say how extremely strong Hamish and Anita are! You an inspiration to other parents and families and my heart is filled with love and best wishes for you and Aria. I know you will stay strong and keep fighting for Aria and each other.
# 22 May at 5:58 pm
Aria has an enduring spirit and a hopefulness that shows she is here for a reason. By being open to the opportunity for greatness, great changes can happen. Strength comes with hope and faith. You have a lot of courage and love to sustain you. Best wishes for you and your little girl.
# 23 May at 1:57 am
I also watched the programme and want to let you know how you touched my heart.Your strength and courage has made us re evaluate our lives and what is important. May it help you to know that we care so much and hope your little darling feels our thoughts and prayers and gets better soon. oxox
# 23 May at 5:00 pm
I have been following Aria on the Attitude TV show. You are doing a mighty job. Stay strong – you have a lot of people in NZ wishing for a speedy recovery for your dear little girl.
All the best. E.x
# 23 May at 11:10 pm
hi i am twelve years old and i heard about you through my mum and i thought that was just way horrible so my mum and i came up with the idea of fundraising at work and school cause all we want to ever do is help and we hope everything goes according to plan
We wish yous all the best…
# 23 May at 11:32 pm
I saw your programme on tv yesterday and am just amazed at how brave you all are. You’ve got a lot on your shoulders and it must be really hard for you all. You’ve got a little fighter in Aria. She’s doing really well for such a little one. I just wanted to say keep going, keep fighting for your baby and know that we are praying for you back here in New Zealand. God be with you, xx
# 25 May at 9:58 pm
I too watched the “Attitude” program last Sunday morning. What an inspiration you all are – your courage, strength and love for each other. Away from home and family it must be the hardest time. Little Aria is surely a gift from God and my prayers are with you all.
God keep you in His arms of love
# 29 May at 3:37 pm
Aria’s story last Sun morning really touched me, but above all your quiet faith and hope in our God shone through. What an amaazing story and what a wonderful testimony. I share a verse from Isaiah 41:10 which is a verse for a whole week – one phrase for each of seven days : -
1)Fear not
2)For I am with you
3)Be not dismayed
4)For I am your God
5)I will help you
6)I will strenghen you
7)I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
May you continually be conscious of God’s faithfulness which is new every morning, His love which never ends and His presence which will hever leave you. There is nowhere that God isnt.
Every blessing
Valmai
# 2 Jun at 6:19 pm
Hey…we are friends you havent met yet, but in the family of God.
Happy Birthday Princess Aria. May God be with you and your family today. May you feel his presence today. May you have peace, and joy and His strength.
Bless you from Kaitaia, NZ.