Virus Delays Homecoming for Toddler Who Received Liver From Dad

A long-awaited homecoming was delayed for a toddler who received a liver transplant, with her father as the donor, after she contracted a virus.

Phuoc Wagner made headlines along with her twin sister Binh, when both girls needed a liver transplant to survive and their father Michael Wagner could only donate to one. Phuoc underwent the surgery last month after doctors determined she needed the operation sooner than her sister.

While both the 3-year-old girl and her father are recovering, Phuoc’s return home was delayed this week after she contracted the norovirus or stomach flu, according to the family’s Facebook page.

“No homecoming yet: norovirus is keeping Phuoc in hospital,” Johanne Wagner, the twin’s mother wrote on Facebook. “And norovirus in my house as well. Homefront needs to be clear before they can come home.”

Johanne Wagner also confirmed they still are waiting to hear about the possibility of a living donor for Binh Wagner. Both Binh and Phuoc needed liver transplants after suffering liver damage because of a genetic condition called Alagille syndrome.

In an earlier post this week Johanne Wagner said she worried about having Phuoc back after her transplant.

“It is scary though to welcome her back so soon after transplant,” Wagner wrote on Facebook. “A lot of new stuff to assimilate. Daily nursing visits for weeks to come to administer IV meds and perform bloodwork. But most of all, the fear of something going wrong, and quickly.”

However, Wagner said she is eager for Phuoc to reunite with her twin sister Binh. She posted a few pictures of Binh this week playing and even dancing with her older brother.

According to an earlier report from the Canadian Broadcasting Company that the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto has received 400 submissions from people offering to be a living donor for Binh.