The parents of a Florida infant have described their daughter as a 'ticking time bomb' after a severe liver condition went undiagnosed for two months, leading to complete organ failure and a desperate fight for her life.
A Seemingly Healthy Start Turns Sour
Mattie Beacham was born via c-section on 13 December 2022 at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando. Discharged three days later with a clean bill of health, her parents, Allison and Michael Beacham, believed they had a healthy baby girl. However, Mattie struggled to gain weight from the outset.
Despite being fed high-calorie formula, her weight remained dangerously low at just 5lbs, while her abdomen became distended with fluid, a condition known as ascites. As weeks passed, her skin yellowed and her stools turned clay-coloured—classic signs of liver distress.
The Critical Delay in Diagnosis
According to a lawsuit reviewed by the Daily Mail, doctors at Orlando Health repeatedly told the concerned parents that Mattie simply needed to eat more. The situation reached a crisis point at her two-month check-up on 13 February 2023. A covering paediatrician, upon examining Mattie, allegedly 'turned ghost white' with concern over her failure to thrive, jaundice, and enlarged liver.
Mattie was rushed to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where she was finally diagnosed with biliary atresia. This rare disease, affecting roughly one in 12,000 US infants, blocks the liver's bile ducts. Bile builds up, poisoning the liver and preventing nutrient absorption. The only treatment is a Kasai procedure, a surgery most effective if performed before an infant is 30-45 days old.
Tragically, Mattie was 63 days old at diagnosis. Her Kasai surgery, performed two days later, was unsuccessful. The lawsuit claims this failure was a direct result of the delayed diagnosis.
A Harrowing Fight for Survival and Lasting Scars
What followed was a medical nightmare. Mattie's condition deteriorated into complete organ failure. Transferred to Advent Health, she spent 186 nights in hospital, at one point being given a zero percent chance of survival. She was placed in a medically induced coma and kept alive by 21 different machines.
In a last-ditch effort, a nurse engineered a tandem machine combining dialysis and plasmapheresis, which slowly helped her organs recover. This made her eligible for a liver transplant. In early October 2023, the nine-month-old received part of a liver from a deceased donor. The organ had to be trimmed twice to fit her tiny body.
Now three years old, Mattie bears severe, lifelong complications from her ordeal. These include:
- Losing all the fingers on her left hand due to sepsis.
- Being immunocompromised and at high risk of cancers like melanoma.
- Developmental delays, impaired speech, and having suffered three strokes.
- Doctors estimate she may live only to around 50 years old.
The family's lawsuit centres on a critical allegation: a direct bilirubin test was performed when Mattie was just three days old. The results, showing levels 13 times above the normal range, allegedly flagged for biliary atresia, but the Beachams were never informed. Had they known, early intervention could have prevented the catastrophic organ failure.
The Legal Battle and 'Mattie's Law'
Orlando Health has admitted fault under a Florida statute that caps malpractice damages at $250,000. The family is pursuing arbitration with the hospital. A separate medical malpractice trial against the Pediatrix Medical Group is scheduled for 2027.
Driven by their experience, the Beacham family is championing Mattie's Law in Florida. This legislation aims to add the direct bilirubin test to the state's mandatory newborn screening panel, hoping to prevent similar tragedies. A pilot programme including Advent Health has already adopted the test.
Despite her immense challenges, her mother Allison describes Mattie as 'the happiest little human I have ever known.' The family calls her 'Miracle Mattie,' a testament to a child who defied a 24-hour death sentence and continues to inspire a fight for change in newborn healthcare.
