Sunday, December 11, 2011
The 10-year-old from Richland Township received a multi-organ transplant a year ago that enabled her to eat for the first time in her life.
Matisse Reid's story has hit the big time. Today an article about the Richland Township 10-year-old who received a transplant a year ago appears in Parade magazine, which you can access online by clicking here. [If you get the print version of Parade, you will find the story on page 14.] Her mother said in her CaringBridge.org online journal that a year ago the family was holding Matisse's hand through the difficult post-transplant period "And today an article in Parade Magazine!!! Online and in Sunday Newspapers," Jodee wrote. She thanked writer Kate Myers "who told Matisse's story so beautifully" and the staff at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh UPMC for sharing Matisse's success. "If we can give just one family hope, then our job is…
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Matisse Reid was born with a rare bowel condition called chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo obstruction.
Greatest Person is a feature that focuses on an inspiring member of the Pine-Richland community. Matisse Reid has big plans. She wants to update her cooking blog, and she's taken up the violin. Normal activities for any 10-year-old girl, perhaps, but they're miraculous for this Eden Hall Upper Elementary fifth-grader from Gibsonia. A native of New Zealand, Matisse Reid was born Dec. 25, 2000 with a rare bowel condition called chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo obstruction. Unable to eat because of the effects of the disease, she relied on IV feedings to keep her alive. She underwent an organ transplant of a small and large intestine a year ago today at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. The procedure enabled her to eat for the …
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Eden Hall Upper Elementary School
3900 Bakerstown Rd, Gibsonia, PA
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Sunday, May 22, 2011
Ten-year-old organ transplant recipient returns to school after hospital stay.
It's still considered early days in the saga of Matisse Reid's multi-organ transplant, but she's crossed another milestone in her quest for a normal routine -- she's started back to school. Matisse went back to classes at Eden Hall Upper Elementary on May 12 and her mother, Jodee Reid, says it's going really well. "The school staff and students welcomed her back with a lunchtime party and have helped her to fit back in, says Reid. "Going back to school has really helped her to reconnect with her peers and feel more normal." Matisse was born in New Zealand on Dec. 25, 2000, with a rare bowel condition called chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo obstruction. Unable to eat, she had to rely on IV feedings to keep her alive. Her condition has …
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Eden Hall Upper Elementary School
3900 Bakerstown Rd, Gibsonia, PA
/articles/matisse-reid-settles-into-classroom-routine
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/locations/4400951
Thursday, January 20, 2011
After 6 weeks at Children's Hospital, the 10-year-old comes back to her Gibsonia home.
Matisse Reid is home. The 10-year-old with a rare disease that has prevented her from eating a real meal since she was a baby is settling in at her Gibsonia house with the transplanted organs that allow her to eat food like the other kids do. Along with her are boxes and boxes of medicine as her parents continue to care for her around the clock with medicines that fight organ rejection. Matisse received a large bowel and small bowel during transplant surgery Dec. 7 at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. In the ensuing six weeks she has battled migraines and abdominal pain, taken enough medicines to fill a pharmacy, and eaten shrimp, sushi, pancakes and chicken nuggets. Her story is that of a Christmas miracle, as she was born on Dec…
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Eden Hall Upper Elementary School
3900 Bakerstown Rd, Gibsonia, PA
/articles/organ-transplant-recipient-matisse-reid-comes-home
824475
/locations/3118582
Friday, January 14, 2011
The 10-year-old is doing a little bit better, her mother says.
Matisse Reid is holding her own with her transplanted organs and doing an “incy bit better each day,” her mother reports. Ten-year-old Matisse was born in New Zealand with a rare disease that prevented her from digesting food. She was fed through a tube her entire life until the miracle of transplant surgery Dec. 7 allowed her the ability to eat. Matisse’s family moved to Richland Township four years ago to be close to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, where she had the small bowel and large bowel transplant surgery. “Life is pretty much status quo at the moment and it feels pretty good,” her mother Jodee reported yesterday in her online journal. “Matisse is doing a little ‘incy’ bit better each day.” The fourth grader at Eden …
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-79.961055
Eden Hall Upper Elementary School
3900 Bakerstown Rd, Gibsonia, PA
/articles/matisse-reid-holding-her-own-after-transplant
824475
/locations/3054304
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Her favorite dishes -- chicken strips and onion rings -- are banned for now.
Just as she got relief from her migraines, Matisse Reid got a dose of bad news yesterday. The little girl who had transplant surgery so she finally could eat was banned from her two favorite foods. “The ban will hopefully be short. Unfortunately all she wants to eat is chicken strips and onion rings -- both fried,” her mother, Jodee, wrote in her online journal. “There is a very good reason for cutting out the fat in her diet. By doing so we may be able to get rid of the drains, which bother her so much, sooner rather than later. But in the meantime, she is not happy -- just another blow to her.” Matisse was born with a rare disease that prevented her from digesting food. She received a small bowel and large bowel Dec. 7 during …
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Eden Hall Upper Elementary School
3900 Bakerstown Rd, Gibsonia, PA
/articles/transplant-recipient-matisse-reid-gets-bad-news-on-food
824475
/locations/3001347
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Donors say they are volunteering for Matisse and her family.
Seventy-five people signed in today to donate blood in support of organ transplant recipient Matisse Reid at Eden Hall Upper Elementary. "This is really a nice response," said Marcy Braunstein, manager of special recruitment programs for the Central Blood Bank. Usually, drives net 30 to 40 units of blood total, she said. By the end of the six-hour drive, 64 units had been collected, said Eden Hall school nurse Suzanne Leonberg, who worked with the Central Blood Bank to organize the drive. Not all who sign in are able to donate; some are disqualified for medical reasons. "This blood drive produced over 150 blood products for patients in area hospitals," said Braunstein. 'Each unit of blood is separated into three components red blood …
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Eden Hall Upper Elementary School
3900 Bakerstown Rd, Gibsonia, PA
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824475
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Community encouraged to donate at Eden Hall Upper Elementary.
As fourth-grader Matisse Reid endures the ups and downs of recovering from transplant surgery, her school gears up for a blood drive today. The Matisse Reid Replenishment Blood Drive will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. at Eden Hall Upper Elementary School. Potential donors are encouraged to sign up in advance, but walk-ins are welcome also. As of yesterday morning, 28 people had signed up, according to Eden Hall school nurse Suzanne Leonberg. She said organizers are hoping to get 60 donors. The replenishment drive supports Matisse, who received blood supplied by the Central Blood Bank after her Dec. 7 multi-organ transplant at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Her progress has been chronicled by her mother, Jodee, in an online journal …
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-79.961055
Eden Hall Upper Elementary School
3900 Bakerstown Rd, Gibsonia, PA
/articles/matisse-reid-replenishment-blood-drive-set-for-today
824475
/locations/2954895
Monday, January 3, 2011
Drive supports 10-year-old organ transplant recipient, Matisse Reid.
Time is of the essence to sign up for Wedneday's blood drive at Eden Hall Upper Elementary in support of fourth-grader Matisse Reid, who received blood as part of her treatment after organ transplant surgery. The special replenishment blood drive will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. at the school at 3900 Bakerstown Road, Gibsonia. To sign up to donate, log on to www.centralbloodbank.org using sponsor code Z0020821 or contact Eden Hall's school nurse, Suzanne Leonberg, at 724-443-1450, extension 7025, or email sleonberg@pinerichland.org. Ten-year-old Matisse received a small bowel and large bowel Dec. 7 at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. During her recovery, Matisse used blood from the Central Blood Bank, a nonprofit organization that …
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-79.961055
Eden Hall Upper Elementary School
3900 Bakerstown Rd, Gibsonia, PA
/articles/time-to-sign-up-for-blood-drive-at-eden-hall-upper-elementary
824475
/locations/2932821
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Pain could be side effects of many drugs she is prescribed, mother says.
Matisse Reid has been plagued with headaches and belly aches since receiving a small bowel and large bowel transplant at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. "Today has been a horrible day for Matisse," her mother, Jodee, wrote yesterday in her online journal. "She has had a migraine since about mid-day and has whimpered for a solid 8 hours. "Finally realizing this was more than just a headache, I asked the transplant fellow to do something about it. It is really hard because Matisse has had massive amounts of anti-rejection medication in a short period of time and is on steroids and her regular immune suppressant, which can all give her headaches. But 8 hours of no break is not good, plus she has to have the room really dark and …
40.657624
-79.961055
Eden Hall Upper Elementary School
3900 Bakerstown Rd, Gibsonia, PA
/articles/matisse-reid-plagued-by-headaches-during-transplant-recovery
824475
/locations/2927694
