Sheriff Sarah

Sheriff Sarah

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The Liver Kids #4: Olivia King

Here is another installment in the Meet the Liver Kids series. Olivia is a chipper 14-year-old who just received her second liver transplant. She is battling issues with her stent and also has cystic fibrosis. Olivia's mom, Barbara, has been gracious enough to allow me to utilize Olivia's own words from the Friends of Olivia Facebook page. If you don't already follow her progress, please do so. The family really needs your prayers. This has been a continual up and down struggle and they just returned home after a very lengthy hospital stay following transplant.

Now, without further adieu, please meet Olivia King, in her own words:

"My transplant was because I had a genetic disease called CF. And boy was that horrible to learn. It scared my parents but they seemed to be so strong. For years I have been stuck in the hospital because the Liver became a flop and has not worked for 10 years. I had what they call a thrombosis at transplant and caused me to have those awful, horrible bile duct stents. The CF complicated the liver stuff and the liver stuff complicated the CF. So around and around we go.

Not too many people know about CF or even about transplants. I have learned so much over the years that I try to not talk about it. My life is not about my disease, it is about me. In fact, I hate it sometimes when my parents talk about it because people see my sickness and don't see me. But, I do understand that people want to know because like my friend Tyler who has mitochondrial disease, when you first see me you think I look great. You think I am fine. Even my Doctors say that and it just makes me mad because I know how I feel on the inside."

To read further about Olivia go to: Friends of Olivia Info page

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