Boyd third grade student Micah Wilson celebrated her last day at school as Principal of the Day Friday. Wilson — who was diagnosed with hepatic fibrosis and autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) two years ago — will undergo liver transplant surgery at the end of the month, with her father, Michael, serving as the donor. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Boyd Elementary School third-grader Micah Wilson monitored the hallways Friday with a walkie-talkie in her hands, making sure students were in class and that the campus was running efficiently.
The youngest principal in Boyd history wielded the responsibilities of the campus’s top administrator with poise on her final day of school this year — alongside her best friend and second-in-command Blake Skerik. One would never know Micah was battling a pair of genetic kidney and liver diseases at the same time.
As she turned over her Principal of the Day authority at the end of the day, students, teachers and staff lined the corridors clapping, cheering and shedding tears as Micah walked out of the school with her parents —Michael and Nicole — and three brothers — David and twins Elliott and Thomas.
The celebration marked a significant milestone in Micah’s ongoing health battle. She will travel to San Antonio at the end of the month to receive a liver transplant, thanks to a donation made by her father, Michael.
“You would never know by looking at [Micah] that she is not a typically healthy, normal little girl,” Michael said. “We don’t let her be lazy. She’s very active, plays basketball, does jiu jitsu, and runs and plays with her brothers. But she just happens to have a liver that’s fighting against her.”
Accompanied by her best friend Blake Skerik (right), Boyd Elementary School third-grader Micah Wilson (left) walks down the halls during a clap-out ceremony Friday celebrating her upcoming liver transplant. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Three years ago, Micah frequently experienced severe nose bleeds, and was later diagnosed with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease — a rare genetic disorder often found during infancy or childhood causing cysts to form in the kidneys and liver, leading to enlarged organs, chronic kidney disease. and potential liver issues.
Due to the disease, she’s also undergone several esophageal varices banding procedures where tiny rubber bands around swollen veins in the esophagus to stop or prevent bleeding.
“[Micah] was having a lot of nosebleeds, and she was missing school because of them,” Nicole said. “If the liver is like a main road that’s shut down, then the blood goes on the side roads. She had blood coming out everywhere all the time — her nose, her mouth and her eyes. They kept telling us at Cook’s Children that we just weren’t pinching her nose hard enough.”
The Wilsons were dealt another blow upon learning six months ago that Micah was also suffering from hepatic fibrosis, resulting from excessive buildup of scar tissue in the liver due to ongoing inflammation.
“Instead of her liver being like a sponge where blood can easily pass through and get cleaned of all of its toxins, her liver’s like a brick,” Michael said. “From the early diagnosis, they were thinking she might need a transplant, or that they’d be able to put in some surgical shunts or do other surgical interventions. Even though she’s battling both diseases, everything is presenting itself more in her liver. It’s come to the point where a transplant is the only option for her moving forward to have a healthy and normal life.”
Boyd Elementary School student Micah Wilson poses for a photo with her parents — Nicole and Michael — and brothers — David and twins Elliott and Thomas — during a clap-out celebration event Friday. Micah, a third-grader, will receive a liver transplant at the end of the month from her father. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
After Micah’s diagnoses, Michael began checking to see if his liver could potentially serve as the donation to his daughter. The family got the news that Michael’s liver was compatible for Micah while on vacation in Florida in July.
“It was inevitable that she was going to need a transplant. So immediately, I was like, ‘I’m going to be the donor,'” Michael said. “[Micah and I] went through very extensive, intense evaluations back in June. I had testing every hour from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for three days, and hers was for five days. We were all immediately relieved when the call came because we weren’t at the mercy of the list — with her being relatively young and healthy, she’d have to get sick and her life get a whole lot worse before she got approved. We avoided that, and it was by the grace of God because I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I wasn’t a match.”
After learning the donation had been green-lit, Nicole said her husband’s willingness to donate 30 percent of his liver to Micah wasn’t something they thought twice about.
“I’ll never forget when they initially told us that he couldn’t be the donor,” Nicole said. “I wanted to tell the nurse that my husband would cut himself open and hand her his liver for his daughter. Micah’s surgeon said he’s been doing transplants for 30 years, and he’s only had two fathers donate in that time. It’s usually a mom or a sibling, or someone else. He told us through his tears that the fact Michael is even taking the steps to donate makes him a hero in his book.”
Boyd Elementary School principal Jana Clark and fine arts teacher Megan Maynor pray with the Wilson family following a clap-out ceremony for third-grader Micah Wilson Friday. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
As Micah rounded the final corner of the BES hallways Friday, fine arts teacher Megan Maynor — who attends church with the Wilson family — was standing at the doorway with a special Build-a-Bear that was created to bring comfort as the transplant approaches.
Maynor’s friendship with Nicole grew after the family moved from Flower Mound to Boyd in 2019, and also allowed a bond to develop with Micah over the past two years.
“I got a text from Nicole one night when she was really struggling, and she said ‘[Micah] only wants you, she’s desperate and she needs your prayers,'” Maynor said. “So the next morning, I graciously and nervously walked up to [Boyd Elementary School principal Jana] Clark and told her Micah’s request was for me to pray with her each morning, and asked how we could arrange this. We’ve been very respectful of others and my time here at work, but we’ve been able to walk around every day and pray together. She’s such a special kid… As a woman of God, it’s been a blessing knowing He’s put this job and this task in my life to help a kid keep going.”
To document Micah’s journey, Nicole and her daughter have posted videos counting down the days to her surgery on Instagram. The videos have helped to spread awareness about Micah’s condition and her ongoing health battle, and have drawn support from Boyd ISD and the Boyd community.
“We’re more isolated as human beings than ever before, but the fact that there’s hundreds of people praying over us and checking in on her lets us know we’re not walking alone in this,” Michael said. “There are people that are fighting to make sure we’re not doing this alone, and that makes the differences in the toughest times.”
Boyd Elementary School principal Jana Clark relinquished her job title and duties to third-grader Micah Wilson Friday. Wilson served as the campus’s Principal of the Day on her ast day of school before a liver transplant at the end of the month. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Micah and Michael’s procedures will take place at The University Transplant Institute in San Antonio — recognized as the No. 1 liver transplant program in the country in 2023 — later this month. The family will stay in San Antonio for several month post-operation in case of complications.
“They do more of these liver transplants for kids than anyone else, and they have much better success rates by every single measurable statistic than any other hospital in the United States,” Michael said. “The amount of care and kindness we’ve experienced from them from our very first interaction with the transplant surgeon — Dr. Danielle Fritze — has been amazing. They have a 97 percent success rate, which is higher than the national average of 93 percent.”
Doctors estimate it will take a year for Micah to fully recover, while Michael’s liver donation should regenerate within a span of two months.
“They told us she can’t do gymnastics, jiu jitsu or ride horses. We’ve not raised her to be in bubble,” Nicole said. “A lot of it will be managing infections and germs, as her immune system will be so suppressed. She’s going to be on 22 different medications at the hospital. Then, she’ll be on 12 when she is released, and then two or three in six months.”
The Wilson family is hoping Michael’s donated liver will be accepted by Micah’s body, and will bring an end to her health saga.
“[The liver] will hopefully grow into a fully-functioning liver for her, and it’ll grow with her as she grows up,” Michael said. “But there’s also a likelihood she’ll need a kidney transplant down the road We’re hoping that’s not the case, but it’s a possibility.”
Clark expects Micah to return to campus with a new lease on life.
“Micah knows she’s loved, but we wanted to show her family today how much we love her and them, as well,” Clark said. “That kid has a lot of grit to her, and this family has so much to offer. This isn’t the last time she’ll be in our hallways — she’ll be back, and we’re going to be keeping up with her.”
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