Yellowknife (Jul 03/06) - Baby Ethan Payne Roberts has survived triple transplant surgery and his family is ready to celebrate his first birthday on July 5, here at home in Yellowknife.

The tiny fighter came home last week, to the waiting arms of loved ones.

Dubbed a “million dollar baby” because of the cost of his surgeries, he and mom Belladonna Payne were welcomed by grandparents, aunts and friends at the Yellowknife airport this past Wednesday. His dad is Belladonna’s boyfriend, Richard Roberts. It’s only the second time Ethan has been in Yellowknife -- the first ended with an emergency medevac to Edmonton.

“He was so tiny...I wanted to help him when there were so many tubes,” said his aunt Lindsey Payne, describing a visit to Edmonton to see her nephew.

His maternal grandmother, Judy Payne, remembers how difficult it was to be in Yellowknife while her daughter and grandson were in Edmonton.

“It was really scary and nerve wracking.”

Doctors knew he faced a difficult birth, with part of his bowel and small intestines protruding from his body, so the delivery was scheduled for Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. Within hours of being delivered, Ethan was rushed into surgery at the University of Alberta Hospital.

But surviving this surgery was the least of Ethan’s worries.

He was allowed to come to Yellowknife at Thanksgiving. Here, he suffered massive liver and intestinal failure.

The only thing that could save the baby, now only a few months old, was a new liver, spleen, as well as new intestines so he was rushed back to University of Alberta Hospital.

No one in the family or close friends was deemed suitable a donor.

The family was told Ethan had a nine out of 10 chance of dying while waiting for a suitable donor, said Judy.

Belladonna expressed her fear of her baby’s death in a poem: “The way I felt when the doctors said, your son needs a liver or he will be dead, there are no words for the way I felt, just the way the cards had been dealt.”

On Nov. 2, a donor was found and he was rushed back into surgery. Though the surgery was successful, Ethan’s heart stopped and had to be revived.

Kept in a medicated coma to recover, Ethan had to be revived a second time after his breathing tube was dislodged while being turned over, said Judy.

Ethan’s paternal grandmother, Carrie Roberts, is overjoyed that he’s home.

“It was a big long year, he was down a few times, but it was worth every minute.”

She’s planning a birthday party for him July 5.

“Of course there will be cake,” said Carrie.

Ethan’s eating tube is set to be removed in about a month, said Belladonna.

He will always have to take anti-rejection drugs which weaken his immune system.

He faces one more surgery when he’s a little older, because the donated organs were a little too big for his body and a hernia will need to be repaired. First, he needs time to recover.

Belladonna said she and Richard are looking forward to spending quality time with their son in their own home.

Ethan’s mom said she owes her son’s life to the many health professionals who made Ethan’s life possible and sends out her heartfelt thank you to the donor’s family.