Arthur Goan, Author at RVH Liver Support Group

About Arthur Goan

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So far Arthur Goan has created 266 blog entries.

Kody’s story

The story of one little boy’s battle with liver disease early in his life

My name is Megan and when I was 18 years old I gave birth to a bouncing baby boy on the 12th of April 2010. My pregnancy and the birth were perfectly normal so I was discharged from hospital after two days, with a follow-up from the midwife a few days later.

When the midwife arrived we discussed Kody’s weight and skin colour, as he wasn’t gaining very much and was slightly jaundiced. Things never improved and the advice I was given was to keep him in the sun and it would go away in time. When Kody was 7 weeks old his stools went very pale (almost white) and also very frequent. I rang the doctor on call as this was a Saturday. I gave all his symptoms and was told that it sounded as if Kody was lactose-intolerant. I was advised to take him to the GP first thing on Monday morning with a stool sample.

So, on the Monday morning off I went. On arrival the doctor asked me to give all Kody’s details. After one look at him he said, “I don’t mean to worry you but you need to get Kody straight to hospital”. What was going on in my head at that moment in time is indescribable! So that’s where the journey started – the long, bumpy one.

When we arrived at our local hospital we were taken straight to the children’s ward. They took blood samples straight away. About an hour later the results were back and they were able to tell me that there was something abnormal with his liver but they couldn’t pinpoint what and more tests would need to be preformed.

So over the next eleven days every test you can possibly think of was performed from X-rays, scans to isotope scans – so much for such a little boy but a very strong little boy. On the 11th day a team of doctors crammed into the side room and told me that Kody had to be flown to Birmingham Children’s Hospital to get a life saving operation as they thought Kody had biliary atresia.

So that morning we were on a plane to England – scary I know. When we got there Kody was changed for theatre and everything was good to go until yet again a swarm of doctors gathered in the room to tell me that they had got it wrong and Kody actually had a liver disease called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency. From that moment on I strangely felt relief. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but I knew that he was a fighter. I was given lots of helpful information, met so many lovely people and after three days Kody was discharged on five different medicines and new formula milk.

With regular check- ups at our local hospital and Birmingham once a month, Kody’s weight began to dip. After trying

Kody with his brother

extra calories in his milk, he still struggled to put on weight. When he was 16 weeks old, his consultant back at BCH, Dr.Pat McKiernan, decided it would be best if Kody had a NG tube fitted to help him fatten up. That was another week’s stay over the water, but thanks to Ronald McDonald House they make you feel right at home when times were hard.

At 20 months old, Kody had his NG Tube removed and things have gone well for him in the following months. We’ve had a few spells in hospital, appointments coming out of my ears, liver function tests that go up and down like yoyos – but through it all he has developed into a boisterous little boy who he has never once complained.

Now, almost 4, Kody is a proud brother to Leo.

Kody’s storyArthur Goan2020-08-04T11:17:49+01:00

LYL campaign comes to Belfast

On Tuesday May 20 the British Liver Trust’s Love Your liver Campaign will come to Northern Ireland for the first time. It will be set up at Castlecourt Shopping Centre on the morning of May 20 and will run through the morning and the afternoon.

The Love Your Liver Campaign in Manchester

The Trust has been running the campaign in Great Britain for several years. Last year was its most successful ever. In all their team screened 806 people in 8 different venues, with queues in some places forming before 9 a.m. in the morning. Of the 594 of these people who were fibroscanned, 124 were referred for further tests as a result of the scan showing signs of some liver damage. Just as important, those who weren’t referred received the outcomes of their screening and information on changes that could improve their health and reduce the risk of liver disease. As one of the trustees remarked, ‘Getting this early warning not only helps the individual but may save the NHS millions.’

The RVH Liver Support Group, in assisting the planning of the campaign, is grateful for the support of Mr. Andrew Langford, CEO of the British liver Trust, the RVH consultants and the management of Castlecourt. Please come along on the day and encourage friends and family to do so as well.

LYL campaign comes to BelfastArthur Goan2020-08-04T11:17:49+01:00

February Members’ Meeting

The February members’ meeting took place in the Samuel Irwin lecture theatre on February 20. The guest speakers were clinical psychologists Dr Melanie Wolfenden and Dr Chris Tennyson. Melanie deals with adults and Chris works with children. After an introduction by the chairman prepared questions were asked by Donald to our guests. When they gave their answers members had the opportunity to ask their own questions.

The thought that they had given to the questions, plus the clarity and detail with which they answered them, helped generate some very worthwhile discussion. Both speakers emphasised the positive impact of strong mental attitudes in healing without ever downplaying the difficulties that patients encounter, particularly transplanted patients. The blend of theory, research evidence and real life stories in their responses did much to ensure a very interesting and encouraging evening. The extent of the audience participation was testament to that.

February Members’ MeetingArthur Goan2019-03-14T21:37:36+00:00

A Sister’s Story

Cara Hearst had a life-saving transplant at King’s in early 2009. Since then she has recovered well and recently qualified from Queens as a fully qualified nurse.

Cara and Amy at transplant games dinner

Her younger sister Amy has been close to Cara through all her highs and lows. Amy began an undergraduate course in Physics at Southampton University in September 2011 and has carried her passion for the cause of organ donation onto the campus by forming a society called SUODA – Southampton University Organ Donation Awareness

SUODA is made up of a few committed members. They have held awareness days on campus including a bake sale and a stall. At their first event, members signed up 15 people to the register. They recently collaborated with Southampton Hub to do an online photo campaign. Students around the university were asked to write on a whiteboard their reasons for believing in the benefits of organ donation. They could tag and share their photos on Facebook and were entered into a prize draw. Each photo had a link to a specially commissioned website so that the number of people signing on to the register could be counted. As a result, 193 new people signed on. The society has plans to keep getting more people signed up and to educate the student population on why joining the register is so important.

Interviewed as President of SUODA for a local paper, Wessex Scene, Amy spoke of the society’s story so far and its plans for the future. “Organ donation is not something that I gave a lot of thought to until a few years ago when my sister suffered liver failure. She was 18. She was taken by air ambulance from Belfast to King’s College Hospital in London and put to the top of waiting list for transplant. She was fortunate enough to undergo a successful liver transplant after a three-day wait. Unfortunately, there are people suffering for years with chronic illnesses, waiting for transplants because there is such a shortage of available organs”.

“It wasn’t until a friend at St Andrew’s told me she had joined an Organ Donation Society at the university that I thought I could do something to promote organ donation. I contacted the society president and asked what sort of things they did. It was a new idea being funded and tested by NHS Blood and Transplant in Scotland, to raise awareness amongst students. There isn’t a lot of funding available but I thought I could start one here at Southampton because all we really need are interested people, a room to meet and some decent ideas!

SUODA is for anyone and everyone, even those already on the register. Medical students and students of any of the allied health professions may find the society interesting and relevant but no matter what your course, we hope that membership will be worthwhile.”

A Sister’s StoryArthur Goan2020-08-04T11:17:49+01:00

A Daughter’s Story

My mum, Erica Ferguson, is a two time liver transplant recipient.

She had her first transplant when I was 8 years old. At the time it was such a blur. Being so young I didn’t fully understand the ins and outs. I simply assumed that my mum needed a liver transplant and so she would get it. And that was that.

Fortunately enough my mum did receive a transplant but the only reason she got it so quickly was because she only had two days to live and so went right to the top of the national register. Even now it’s hard to digest that information. I could have lost my mother at such a young age. Not fully understanding the situation, I would have regretted it deeply as I got older, feeling that I would not have had the closure needed.

Thankfully though my mum survived her transplant but the hard times weren’t over yet. Two years later her liver started to fail again and she went back on the list for her second transplant. Only this time it wasn’t as quick. We waited until April 2004 for the second transplant, which was also thankfully a success.

Now nearly ten years on my mum still has a lot of health problems but she gets up every day, tackles everything that needs to be done and is so unbelievably thankful that she has received the gift of life not once but twice.

My mum, myself and the rest of our family are eternally grateful not just to those who donated the organs that

Erica at home with Kirsten and Gary

allowed her to live but to every other person who has signed up to the organ donor register. My mum is now chair of the Northern Ireland Transplant Association (NITA) and campaigns endlessly promoting organ donation and the gift of life all over Northern Ireland. I am so incredibly proud of her and thankful that she is still here to be my mum and an amazing advocate for organ donation.

Seeing my mum do such great work through NITA, inspired me to join the committee as assistant secretary. I enjoy the fact that I can help make a small difference in organ donation. I love attending Freshers Days’, talking to other people my age and encouraging them to sign up to the organ donor register. I hope to continue this and get as many people on the ODR as possible.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supports organ donation. It truly is the best gift you could ever give. If you are not an organ donor please discuss your thoughts and wishes with your family; it is vital that they know how you feel as you have the opportunity to give someone a second chance of life.

Kirsten Ferguson

A Daughter’s StoryArthur Goan2020-08-04T11:17:49+01:00

Philip’s Story

Presentation of cheque to Eileen Hearst

When I knew Philip needed a transplant I decided to run the Dublin Marathon at the end of October to raise money for the RVH Liver Support Group. Between my family and myself we raised £1000. We decided to give the Liver Support Group £800 and the other £200 to Listen Lodge funds.

Just over a week later at 7.30pm on 6th November Philip was taken from the Royal Victoria Hospital by ambulance to Belfast International Airport to be transferred to King’s College Hospital. On the journey by air ambulance he was accompanied by a member of RVH staff. He was flown to Biggin Hill Airport where an ambulance took him to King’s.

Philip had asked me to follow him over as soon as possible. I rang King’s Liver Coordinator , Ami. Ami told me to ring at 6 a.m. the next morning to find out if the liver was suitable. When I rang, Ami informed me that the liver was unsuitable but there was a second liver and they were almost certain that it was suitable but to ring after 8 a.m. So the next thing Philip rang to say he was going to have the operation. I booked the first available flight to Stansted which arrived in London at 2 p.m.. From there I travelled to King’s by train. When I arrived Philip was still in the theatre. I waited around and then Ami came to tell me there was a slight complication with the bile duct which had to be reconstructed but the liver was functioning.

The operation lasted about 8 hours but was successful. Philip was moved to HDU where he was sedated with round the clock care. I was allowed to see him for a short time around 9 p.m.. I was told that if he was alright they would try to bring him around in the morning and to come back at 9 a.m.

When I arrived to see Philip he had lots of wires and tubes coming from him to monitor his progress. He was feeling drowsy and out of sorts. He remained in the unit for 36 hours until he was taken to Todd Ward. While there they changed his medication because he was very confused and not totally aware of what was happening.

During this time he was being accompanied to the toilet when he slipped and fell, breaking his leg in four places. He had to be put in plaster to above the knee. This left him bed bound until he was discharged on the 26th November. Sister Moffett from the RVH came over to accompany Philip on the air ambulance. I was allowed to fly back with them to Aldergrove where an ambulance took us to the Royal. While there he received physio to help him to get on his feet again. He was finally discharged on 6th January 2013. By this time his medication was working and his bouts of confusion had gone. He had come a long way from when I first saw him after the operation and still could not remember much about his time in King’s.

Since then Philip has had to have a drain inserted to remove the bile. It was removed after 6 weeks. Philip would like to say the care and attention he received while in King’s and the RVH was excellent and has made a remarkable change to his health and well being.

He would like to say how grateful he is to the liver donor and their family.

Submitted by Alastair, Philip’s nephew

Philip’s StoryArthur Goan2020-08-04T11:17:49+01:00

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