Blog

Our son Andrew was born September 30, 2013 with a genetic liver disease called Alagille Syndrome. At 8 days old we started seeing a liver specialist at Children’s of Alabama.

Having a child with a rare genetic liver disease can be filled with so much fear, anxiety and uncertainty. Our son Isaac, 17, has genetic mutations on his ABCB11 gene.

Towards the end of my pregnancy I developed an unbearable itch over my entire body. I was diagnosed with cholestasis of pregnancy.

I was experiencing complications and attending Riley Hospital for Children, to soon discover after a year of tests that I was diagnosed with Wilson’s disease.

Doctors began a battery of tests to determine the source of Mallory's nausea, abdominal pain, and jaundice. They discovered she was suffering from a severe illness known as Wilson Disease.

A pain in my abdomen advanced so rapidly over a week, it caused me to collapse. My body had shut down; my family was told I’d need a liver transplant to survive.

When I started treatment for Hepatitis C, I had some pretty dark days. The side-effects of the treatment were milder than earlier treatments but still brutal.

Anderson was first diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1999 and underwent interferon/ribavirin therapy.

My journey with liver disease began when I was 12 years old. After being rushed to the ER due to burst esophageal varices, doctors learned that my liver was dangerously close to failure.

My advice to anyone with alcoholic cirrhosis is to stay positive, believe in yourself, never give up, stop drinking alcohol immediately and listen to your doctor – it will save your life.

I have always been a healthy and active person. As a child, my parents impressed upon me the benefits of eating healthy and exercising.

I was born with Congenital Hepatic Fibrosis that was discovered when I was in grade school.