Nurse of the Week: Registered Nurse Pamela Assid Donates Portion of Liver to Young Girl with Rare Disease

Our Nurse of the Week is Pamela Assid, registered nurse and director of emergency services at Sky Ridge Medical Center, who donated a portion of her liver to a young girl with a rare disease. As a nurse, Assid has devoted her life to helping others, but her dedication reaches far beyond her work.

Assid first learned about 7-year-old Addilyn Hawks’ need for a liver transplant from the girl’s uncle who Assid oversees in the emergency department. Hawks was diagnosed with a rare liver disease at 10 months old and her family knew early on that she would need a transplant in the future. When Hawks’ jaundice came back last year, her doctors realized her liver was failing and placed her on a donor list.

Hawks’ family began exploring the option of a live donor and when the parents were eliminated, they started asking family. Her uncle at Sky Ridge turned out to be the best candidate, which was when Assid discovered that she carried the same blood type and asked if she could be put on the list as a potential donor. The family jumped at the idea and Assid was determined to be the best fit for a liver donor.

Assid tells Denver.CBSLocal.com, “I guess I thought that if that was my daughter, I would want to give her every possible opportunity to have somebody that could potentially be a match…To have the opportunity to change somebody’s life while I’m still living, that’s incredible to me.”

Both patients are now well into recovery and Assid has become an honorary part of their family thanks to her lifesaving donation. To learn more about Assid’s decision to go beyond her normal nursing duties and volunteer to donate a portion of her liver to a young patient, visit here.