Matthew is an 8 year old boy with a very rare congenital liver condition affecting both his liver and spleen. He has been sick for two years now and have only recently found out the diagnosis.. Matthew has whats called portal hypertention and portal vein thrombosis which is a blockage caused by a clot in the main vein connecting the intestines and spleen to the liver. Because of this blockage insufficient amount of blood and nutrients are able to pass through the liver which has caused it to scar and shrink significantly. Due to the scar tissue the liver is unable to preform an important job of cleaning the toxins like ammonia out of the blood before it passes back into the system. For Matthew this means he is left with high ammonia levels which may be causing encephalopathy (brain disease) affecting his short term memory , concentration , has poor judgement and his thinking ability.. life-threatening aspects of this condition are veins(varices) which grow in his stomach and eosophagus to bypass the blockage but as these are unable to cope with the pressure they swell and burst causing a bleed which can be fatal. Matthew needs to get a scope put down every few months to band these veins to prevent this from happening.. Back pressure into the spleen has caused it to enlarge which causes him pain a lot of the time. The spleen of its own accord has made secondary veins branching out into the kidneys and back to the heart.. He also has a clotting deficiency , low platelet count and a peptic ulcer.. Matthew day to day can feel quiet nauseated and would have pain on and off. He gets tired easily and can find it hard to keep up with friends when playing. He is unable to play any contact sport incase of a potential rupture to his spleen which is hard on him when he sees his friends being able to play hurling , rugby etc...
He has ongoing appointments in Our Ladys Childrens Hospital Crumlin for frequent scans , blood tests , scopes etc but now needs to attend Kings College Hospital in London for further tests and treatment. This treatment will include surgery to fix the blockage , debulk or remove the spleen and possibly may need a liver transplant . Money raised in the upcoming events will help towards cost of flights , accomodation and general expenses when having a sick child in hospital.. Any help will be greatly appreciated.....
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