From left: Tim, Owen, Caleb, Elizabeth, Isabella and Tessa Tutsch.Supplied
The organizers: Tim and Elizabeth Tutsch
The pitch: Raising $2-million and climbing
The cause: To fund organ transplants for children
Isabella Tutsch was three years old when she had an operation on her liver that went horribly wrong.
The elective surgery was supposed to remove a cyst but sepsis set in and her liver suffered serious injury. She required a further operation which led to recurrent infections and liver disease. Doctors said she needed a liver transplant.
Her parents, Tim and Elizabeth Tutsch, were ruled out as donors, because neither of them was a blood match. “So we were stuck,” Ms. Tutsch said from the family’s home in Toronto. “And a friend stepped forward, out of nowhere, and offered to save her life.”
The friend, a mother of three, was a perfect match, and on Oct. 21, 2021, Isabella had the transplant at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.
The transplant was successful and although Isabella will be on medication for the rest of her life, she is a healthy nine-year-old girl. The donor’s liver – doctors removed 40 per cent of it – has also fully recovered.
The Tutschs said they could have been resentful because of all the problems that occurred in the initial operation. But instead, they decided to help others by raising money for the organ transplant program at SickKids.
“We had a choice,” said Mr. Tutsch, who is an investment banker at Bank of Montreal. “Are we going to be really mad and sue? Or are we going to try to make a difference? And so we sat down one day and we decided that what we want to do is make a difference.”
The family created Team Izzy and started organizing an annual gala called the Secret Garden, which is held around Oct. 21 each year. They’ve had three so far and raised $2-million in total. Their goal is $5-million and they also want to raise awareness about live donor transplants. “Ninety per cent of people would have no idea that you can give 40 per cent of your liver and it can grow back 100 per cent, and you can save a life,” said Mr. Tutsch.
Ms. Tutsch said launching the fundraiser was a challenge. “But then you started to see how it could help other people, it kind of was beyond us.”
Editor’s note: Based on information provided by sources, a previous version of this article incorrectly stated that after sepsis set in, one of Isabella Tutsch’s liver lobes was removed by mistake. After sepsis set in, her liver suffered serious injury.
