Medical student Megan McGillin was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver 11 years ago
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When she was just 10 years old, Megan McGillin, now a medical student, was diagnosed with cirrhosis, a very rare condition in children characterized by scarring of the liver.
Despite her young age, what Megan heard from the doctors was surprising: her liver had damage that made it look like that of an alcoholic.
One liver expert said that keeping fit and healthy plays a “critical role in keeping the liver in stable condition.”
Cirrhosis cannot be cured or reversed, and many of the liver disorders that cause cirrhosis in children are not preventable.
In Megan, the disease has compromised the proper functioning of the organs for 11 years.
In his case, doctors don’t know how the disease came about, but they said the damage could eventually become so extensive that his liver would stop working.
Liver disease such as cirrhosis can also cause portal hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure in the vein that carries blood from the intestines to the liver) and cause an enlarged spleen (which increases the risk of blood problems).
In Megan’s case, this forced her to give up contact sports, something she deeply valued, due to the risk of rupturing her spleen (a potentially life-threatening condition).
However, she later discovered a passion for rowing and was a member of the Irish high performance team during her school years.
Megan said rowing has kept her health in tip top shape, saying that despite the challenges, high-intensity rowing has contributed to her vitality over the years.
“[Os médicos] Initially when I was diagnosed I was told that at 18 I would need a transplant, but I have stayed fit and healthy,” Megan said.
“Then when I was 16 or 17, I was told that at 21 I would definitely need a transplant. When I turned 21 in November, I didn’t get my birthday transplant. I kept going, so they stopped talking about deadlines.”
“Liver disease is extremely rare in children, which explains why many may not be familiar with cases of chronic liver problems in this group,” says Girish Gupte, pediatric liver specialist at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s.
“The incidence of liver disease ranges from one in 10,000 in the UK population and can reach up to one in a million in some even rarer conditions.”
The specialist says he has seen an increase in the incidence of chronic liver disease in recent decades, attributing it in part to advances in diagnostic methods.
But, he said, environmental factors and lifestyle choices also play crucial roles in the increased incidence of liver disease in children.
“Not all children with liver disease need a liver transplant,” she said.
“Most of these conditions can be controlled with good medical treatments and a healthy lifestyle,” she added.
“However, when liver disease reaches an advanced stage, transplantation is required,” he said.
I believe that keeping fit and eating a healthy diet – which prevents the accumulation of fat in the liver – plays a vital role in keeping the liver in stable long-term condition and in trying to delay or avoid the need for a transplant.
“The Liver of an Alcoholic”
People often associate cirrhosis with a disease caused by long-term alcohol abuse.
While this is a major contributing factor to the condition in adults, cirrhosis in children is often caused by a wide variety of liver disorders.
“Obviously I’ve never had alcohol before [do diagnóstico]and my mum was shocked to have a doctor tell me I had the liver of an alcoholic,” he told BBC News.
“It just shows the correlation between people with liver disease and the hypothesis that it results from alcoholism,” he added.
The 21-year-old has never drank alcohol and has no intention of doing so due to the habit’s effects on her liver.
“Opportunity to educate some people”
Megan said she had mixed reactions when she told people she doesn’t drink alcohol because she has liver disease.
The reaction she doesn’t like is when people say, “Wow, what did you do?” What were you doing a few years ago?’; “When did you start drinking?”
The medical student said this gives her “the opportunity to educate some people that having liver disease is not necessarily related to drinking alcohol or drinking too much.”
“My normal is different”
She said receiving the diagnosis was “scary” but knew she could live with the condition, albeit with limitations as it makes her extremely tired.
“From the outside I look normal, I do normal things,” she said.
“Now, what I call normal is different than my peers. I have to set limits on myself, on certain things I can and can’t do. It’s mostly about managing my energy levels.”
While she’s optimistic about the future, she said she “can’t have a fixed plan” due to her liver disease.
“I could wake up tomorrow and be completely yellow, with jaundiced skin, and I’d know my liver was starting to fail,” she said.
“He would eventually end up needing a transplant. It could be tomorrow, it could be next week, in five years, in 10 years, I just don’t know,” she said.
Megan said if and when the time comes, she won’t hesitate because “having the opportunity to receive an organ from someone else is just amazing.”
She added: “Organ donation really does save lives, but it can still be a scary decision because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know if you’re going to get sick, if your body is going to accept it.” or whether there will be secondary illness or infection after the surgery, because it is a major surgery.
“My liver, as it is, works. Not at full capacity, but whatever it does, it works. You have to wait until it reaches a certain level of liver function, or your condition has affected your lifestyle. so that you are very ill, but the longer the biological liver remains in me, the liver I was born with, the better.”
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
