THE friends and family of a little girl who will need a liver transplant are raising awareness of the condition after she was diagnosed at just 12 weeks old.
Amelia Brett, ten, has liver disease, and later in life will require a transplant.
Her condition is called biliary atresia a condition in infants where liver ducts are scarred and blocked.
Mum Kerrie, from New Town, said that when Amelia became jaundiced only a couple of weeks after she was born.
Kerrie, who has an older 14-year-old without liver conditions, checked Amelia out and was first told the jaundice was quite normal due to breast feeding.
But still worried a week later she was referred to Colchester General Hospital with blood tests being taken.
She said: "She was the colour of a minion, and her poo was white”.
A week later, Amelia, at 12-weeks-old Amelia was sent to Kings College London (KCL) where she had a kasai procedure - meaning a surgeon removed the damaged bile ducts from outside the liver.
The condition occurs when the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder do not develop as expected and are blocked.
Symptoms include jaundice and it can cause serious liver damage.
The 12-hour operation now means Amelia is doing really well in life.
Kerrie added: “A lot of children who have what she has got have had transplants already, she is one of the lucky ones – as she was treated so quickly.”
Kerrie said Amelia needs to go to KCL regularly as well as other health appointments, with Amelia further having ‘open access’ at Colchester Hospital meaning if she is unwell, she can go there straight away.
Kerrie said she wanted to raise awareness including that infants can have liver disease, adding: “When they are babies, it is not always childhood jaundice.
“It so important they get the procedures in the first eight weeks, so there is a better chance of keeping the liver for longer as it’s all about preventing the scarring.”
Joey Dillon, a friend of Amelia since being in the same class since nursery, fundraised over £100 at a front-yard sale over the weekend.
Kerrie said: “Joey’s mum put a post on Facebook as she thought he was collecting the money for himself.
“Joey used his own birthday money and raised over 100 pounds for the liver disease foundation.”
To donate to the British Liver Trust visit here https://britishlivertrust.org.uk/
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