Mother gives daughter life twice, advocates for biliary atresia

ATLANTA - They say becoming a mother is like watching your heartbeat outside your own body. But 6-year-old Julia Navarro and her mother, Analy, give that saying new meaning.

Childbirth is already taxing, but not long after the Navarros made room for baby Julia, the little girl's mother wound up giving even more of herself.

Now, that mother-daughter duo brings awareness to biliary atresia through their nonprofit organization "B. A. Hero."

Diagnosed with biliary atresia

As an infant, Julia's health was a mystery.

"Her skin was yellow, eyes yellow, she was not gaining much weight, not meeting milestones," Analy Navarro said.

For months, doctors told Mrs. Navarro that Julia had jaundice.

"They said this is normal with Latino or Asian babies," she said.

She insisted something was wrong and eventually got an unsettling confirmation.

"They determined she was going into liver failure," she said. "As of now, there is no cure, only two forms of treatment."

Mother donates part of her liver, starts nonprofit 

That initiated the desperate search for a liver.

"I read a liver is an organ you can donate while still living," Navarro said.

No donor came forward, so Mrs. Navarro offered up her own.

Today, Julia is healthy and growing. She enjoys playing the piano, horseback riding and is especially passionate about abstract art. 

The Navarros now run nonprofit "BA Hero." It provides resources and connects those diagnosed to other biliary atresia survivors.

Six years ago this month, Analy gave her daughter's life a second time.

And that's not lost on the first-grader, who knows her mom is quite literally with her wherever she goes.

"It feels like I'm always going to have mom be my hero," Julia said.

On Friday, March 22, the nonprofit will hold its gala to raise funds for its scholarships and programs. For more information about the disease and "BA Hero" click here.