Abigail was a fun-loving, sassy, romantic 6-year-old. She had three sisters and her parents affectionately called the older girls the “Bigs” and younger girls the “Littles.” Abbey was one of the “Bigs.” The family spent their summers playing together. They loved to be outside, and the girls loved the water.
It was on an easy summer night in June 2007 that the family went to the pool. After dinner, the girls went in for one more quick dip. When Abbey stood up to get out, it was clear something was wrong. She walked sideways a couple steps. Then she fell, hitting her head on the pool deck, knocking out her front tooth, and falling into the adult swimming pool.
At the time, the family had no way of knowing how serious their little girl’s injury was. Abbey had been disemboweled by the suction from an uncovered pool drain. Her small intestine had been ripped from her body. There was no medical reason why she had even survived that night. But she did.
Abbey’s initial recovery amazed everyone around her. Eventually, she would need a transplant, but in the meantime, she went home. Thanks to some cleverly disguised nutritional solution (in her backpack) and a drainage tube that came out her side (in a Hannah Montana purse), she even made it back for the first day of school. It was the “new normal.”
On December 16, 2007, a transplant became available for Abbey. The next day, doctors began her triple-transplant surgery – Abbey received a new liver, small bowel and pancreas.
Initially, it looked like Abbey was on the road to recovery. Then she developed a cancerous condition that is triggered, though rarely, by organ transplants. She started chemotherapy. She had numerous problems with infection, and in early March 2008, her new organs began to fail. By that time, Abbey had had countless infections and 16 surgeries. She’d been fighting for so long. Finally, on March 20, 2008, at 6:10 pm, Abigail, the Taylors’ beautiful, sassy, romantic, independent little girl, went very quietly and peacefully, with her parents by her side.
In the hospital, her parents made a promise to make sure this kind of injury never happens again. And so, with that goal in mind, the family created a charitable foundation. They want to prevent the preventable and keep kids safe. For Abbey.
