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2004 December 20 - 18th Birthday Celebrations for Transplant Girl

NEWS RELEASE

20 December 2004

18th Birthday Celebrations for Transplant Girl

On 27 December Kate Goodall of Manchester will be full of festive cheer when she celebrates her 18th birthday, a day she thought she may never see after being struck down by a rare liver disease which meant her having to have a life saving liver transplant

Two and a half years ago Kate was a normal 15 year old enjoying a family holiday in Rhodes.  During the holiday she suddenly started to feel unwell. She explains: “I started being sick and it became difficult to move and walk, my sister commented that my eyes were going yellow and I became sicker and sicker.”

When the family returned home Kate went to St James’s University Hospital, Leeds where she was diagnosed with Wilson’s Disease, an inherited condition in which copper is unable to be excreted from the body.  The copper builds up in the liver and leads to irreversible liver damage.  It can also accumulate in other organs of the body including the brain and cause neurological problems.

Kate continues:  “I don’t remember much about being in hospital, it is all a bit of a haze, but I was placed on the emergency transplant list.  I didn’t really feel anything when they told me I would need a transplant, as I was so ill I just wanted anything to make me better.  Luckily I was only on the waiting list for an liver for about a week.”

Throughout this trauma Kate and her family have been supported by the Children's Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF), a unique Birmingham-based national charity that fights liver disease in children and young people.

Kate said: “The Foundation supported the family throughout my diagnosis and since my transplant, providing them with information about my condition.  We also receive the twice-yearly magazine, Delivery, which is a great help as it lets us know that we are not the only people going through this and that there are people in worse situations than me.  The Foundation’s work is fantastic and in the future I would like to help raise awareness of the fact that children and young people do get liver disease as most people oblivious to this.”

Kate’s transplant has not come without complications. She explains: “Having the transplant obviously saved my life but, on the downside I get tired quicker than my friends, I can’t sit in the sun due to my medications and the steroids I’ve had to take have been linked to me getting Diabetes. Last year I was doing a childcare course at college, but decided to change to design as my immune system is not very strong due to my immuno-suppressants and I knew I’d be susceptible to infections from the children. On the positive side, it has definitely made me appreciate life more and hopefully has made me a better more understanding person.”

Catherine Arkley, chief executive of CLDF, said: “It is good to hear that Kate is doing so well after her transplant.  We need to raise awareness that children and young people get liver disease and that it is not just babies that are affected.  As Kate’s case shows, children of all ages get liver disease.  Around half of childhood liver diseases will occur in infancy, but 20% of liver diseases occur in childhood, and a further 30% occur in adolescence as it did with Kate.   It is a common misconception that transplantation is a cure, but as Kate explained, it isn’t.  It is a treatment and the patient faces a lifetime of taking potent anti-rejection drugs.  This is one of the reasons why it is so important that the Foundation continues to receive support so that we can continue to fund vital research into why children get liver disease.”

If you would like more information about the work of CLDF or childhood liver disease please call 0121 212 3839, e-mail info@childliverdisease.org or visit www.childliverdisease.org

ENDS

If you would like more information on this story please contact Rebecca O’Connor on 0121 212 6012 or e-mail rebeccaOC@childliverdisease.org