29-year-old Alex Keel first became unwell in 2011. She began to feel more fatigued than usual and her skin began to itch – which is what prompted her to go to the doctor for medical advice.
Her symptoms, however, didn’t allow her doctor to make any diagnoses. Keel’s skin had even begun turning yellow, a typical symptom of liver disease, but her doctors continued to be unaware.
It was only in 2012, as Keel’s health continued to decline, that she was referred to a specific liver disease center in Birmingham, UK.
The moment experts at Queen Elizabeth Hospital saw Keel, they put her on an “urgent waiting list” to receive a liver transplant. Without a new liver, there was a possibility Keel could die.
Keel was, finally, diagnosed with Primary Schlerosing Cholangitis (PSC), a long-term liver condition where the bile ducts become damaged and inflamed over time. Doctors are uncertain how this disease is contracted, but they speculate it could be related to infections or immune system issues.
Most patients with PSC are able to live normally with medication. Others may require liver transplants if their condition gets to be too severe. With a transplant, however, 80% of patients will be able to live a healthy, normal life after recovering.
For Keel, her first transplant in January 2012 began to fail in 2015.
Her doctors were able to find her a second transplant liver soon after.
But by April 2016, the replacement organ began to fail, again.
Keel now awaits a third transplant, but has already been warned by her doctors that if this procedure fails, it’s unlikely that she’ll be offered a fourth opportunity to get a new liver.
“With the first two transplants I didn't worry but now I'm needing a third I'm beginning to get anxious about dying from this disease. It's got a hold of me and won't go away,” she explained.
Because of these increased stakes, Keel’s doctors have decided to pioneer a new procedure on Keel while transferring the new liver to her body. Rather than simply transplant the liver, her doctors will also “protect her third liver with a stem cell transplant.”
Keel has managed to remain positive throughout the entire process, and her work colleagues are now hoping to raise money to support her recovery following her third transplant. Everyone is praying that the transplant will finally hold for the remainder of Keel’s life, and that her fight against PSC will slowly get better from here on out.
