McKinney 2-year-old receives lifesaving liver transplant

The family of a McKinney boy who was in desperate need of a new liver earlier this year finally got the call they were waiting for eight months later.

MCKINNEY, Texas - The family of a McKinney boy who was in desperate need of a new liver earlier this year finally got the call they were waiting for eight months later.

Clark Wilcox went into surgery last week, and it was a success.

It’s a success story the family didn’t expect, but they’re grateful if not a little nervous moving forward with recovery in a pandemic.

When FOX 4 first met Chris and Chrystal Wilcox and their son Clark in January, little did they know the liver transplant Clark so desperately needed was eight months away.

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“We got the call Thursday. He was asked to be the secondary on a potential liver, and he got bumped to the primary. Went in Thursday night and passed all the tests,” Chris said. “He went into surgery Friday morning.”

2-year-old Clark is sitting up and doing exceptionally well in the hospital. But getting to this point in his two short years of life has been a difficult road.

Clark arrived at the Wilcox home at 6 weeks old from an abusive home. He was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder destroying his liver.

The Wilcoxes loved him from the beginning and formally adopted him in August 2019, joining their four biological children and a daughter also adopted from foster care.

What the Wilcoxes didn’t plan for was a pandemic.

COVID-19 canceled several of the family’s fundraisers when Clark went on the transplant waitlist. Now, it’s adding another layer of anxiety.

“We are actually real concerned now because they have to suppress his immune system. So now, he’s even more susceptible to COVID,” Chris said. “It’s just going to be like quarantine lockdown again for our house. No one’s allowed over. We have an immune-suppressed child.”

Chris says they are forever grateful to the donor’s family and to those who stepped up to help with meals, gift cards and caring for their other kids. But more than anything, they’re thrilled Clark will finally have the quality of life he deserves.

“They say it’s coming,” Chris said. “You don’t think it’s going to get here and then it does. And it’s going so well. We feel fantastic.”

LINK: cotaforclark.com