AKRON, Ohio — A photograph from 1998 shows Hannah Fleming, who was 8 months old at the time, wearing a white, oversized T-shirt and lying in a hospital bed.
With a beaming smile, she appeared to be a very happy baby, but in reality, she was very sick and in desperate need of a new liver.
Doctors had told her parents that their baby girl might not live to see her first birthday.
"When I was born, they knew that something was wrong immediately," Fleming said. "After months of testing and procedures, that's when they found out I was in liver failure."
She was diagnosed with biliary atresia, and her family was referred to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, where she ultimately had a liver transplant in October 1998.
Fleming said she had never spoken publicly about her emotional journey until last month when she explained her story to a crowd at a Lifebanc presentation.
"Oct. 29, 1998, just an 8-month-old, I finally received the liver I waited so long for," she told the attendees as she fought back tears.
In her first television interview, Fleming, who is now 25, told News 5 that she hopes her story brings attention to organ donation ahead of Feb. 14, which is National Organ Donor Day.
"I honestly just want to spread awareness of what organ donation can do. I know I'm living proof of how I can help someone and how I can turn the opportunity that I had into opportunities for other people," she said.
Fleming paged through a special family album that contains baby pictures before and after the transplant, newspaper articles and fundraising flyers from 25 years ago.
There were spaghetti dinners, silent auctions, car washes and coin donation containers placed on the counters of businesses in the Cuyahoga Falls, Tallmadge and Akron areas.
About $70,000 was raised to cover the cost of the surgery.
The Fleming family was in and out of the Cincinnati hospital several times, and it seemed like hope was lost until a phone call came in the middle of the night.
"My parents were just about to take me home and they were like, 'Please, just let us stay. Just one more night, just one more night.' And they came in at 2:30 in the morning and my mom got that call that they found an organ for me," Fleming said.
Fleming is now very proud that she's able to give back as a Cleveland Clinic Akron General nurse on the organ surgery team.
"If a patient is a good candidate, they'll bring the patient down and that's when we proceed with the organ procurement process," she said.
Given how blessed she feels to be alive, Fleming said that process is often emotional for her.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't shed a tear or two. It's very emotional."
However, she's also grateful knowing she's part of a team giving someone else a second chance at life.
"I feel that during my first surgery on the Lifebanc team that I was in, my life came full circle for sure," she said.
In 2022, Fleming experienced a setback when her liver enzymes were elevated for a couple of months.
She went back to the same Cincinnati hospital on the same floor, where she got her new liver in 1998.
She was a patient again for about 15 days, receiving steroids and more anti-rejection medications. Now she's feeling healthy and very happy.
"I've never actually said this before, but I am 100% healthy and clear of rejection."
From a very young organ recipient to a nurse to an organ donor advocate, Fleming hopes her journey inspires others.
"The gift of life— you know being an organ donor— can really give someone a second chance at life and they can do great things."
