Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser Will Help Pay for Dearborn Girl's Liver Transplant

All day Wednesday, will be serving up wings, fries, beer–and hope–for a little girl named Lillian.

The west downtown Dearborn eatery will be hosting a fundraiser for 9-month-old Lily Haux to help raise money to cover the medical costs arising from a rare and potentially fatal liver disease.

Lillian was born on Oct. 24 and was diagnosed with biliary atresia at just two months old, explains her mother, Dearborn resident Sara Haux.

“We kept going back to the doctor,” she remembers. “Her weight was low and her eyes were yellow.”

Biliary atresia, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, is “a blockage in the tubes (ducts) that carry … bile from the liver to the gallbladder.” The disease leads to cirrhosis of the liver, which if left untreated, can be deadly.

Haux said that she and her husband put Lillian through a surgery to remove her gallbladder and attach her intestines to her liver, but it was unsuccessful.

“So now we’re in the process of getting a liver transplant,” Haux explains.

Lillian is on a waiting list and needs to find a suitable donor who matches her blood type and is determined a match by her doctors. She’s high on the list and likely will receive her transplant soon, but that brings up another problem: medical bills.

A serious medical condition plus multiple surgeries means medication, hospital and doctor visit bills for the Haux family plus time off of work for Sara, who must take care of Lillian full-time.

“We really don’t have a set goal for the fundraiser,” Haux says. “We’re just hoping for anything we can get.”

The fundraiser runs all day. Twenty percent of proceeds from Buffalo Wild Wings’ sales will go toward helping Lillian, but diners must mention the fundraiser. Lillian will not be making an appearance because she is currently being treated for complications arising from her condition.

Buffalo Wild Wings is open Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

If you are unable to attend, but would like to donate, the family is setting up a bank account in the near future for donations for Lillian. Dearborn Patch will share information about donations as soon as it becomes available.