A Father Thought He Couldn’t Be Cured, but an Angel Donor Saved Him, and Now He Wants to Help Save Others

6 years ago, Gareth Weeks’ life took a sudden twist after being diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a chronic liver disease that put his life on a very challenging path. Fortunately, he was on the list for a liver transplant after going through several health issues. With a new liver and feeling optimistic about his future, Gareth shared before and after photos of himself, which gathered thousands of reactions, raising awareness for a silent case: organ transplant.

5-Minute Crafts has written this article to tell you the story of Gareth’s battle against liver disease and the positive outcomes of his transplant surgery.

Tiredness was the first sign something was wrong

It all started in 2016 when Gareth started to feel out of sorts. “Even if I got a good night’s sleep, I would still feel exhausted,” he shared. He assumed that this fatigue was just part of being a first-time parent, as his daughter had just been born.

Later that year, after feeling particularly bad, he had jaundice, a medical condition that makes a person’s skin and the whites of their eyes turn yellow. Gareth did some blood tests, which showed that his liver function levels were higher than they should be. Since the next results revealed an improvement, his doctor thought that the problem was caused by a gallstone.

In July 2016, an ultrasound proved that his doctor’s theory was kind of correct: he had small stones in his gallbladder. This gave him hope that everything would be back to normal after getting these stones removed. However, further tests showed that he had primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic liver disease that would eventually require a transplant.

Even though the health specialist suggested staying away from Google after such a concerning diagnosis, Gareth didn’t follow this instruction and read that PSC was incurable, his life expectancy ranged between 10 and 12 years, and he was now at higher risk for getting cancer. “It was a total shock and a lot to take in. I got home and told my wife that I was sick, one of those moments I will never forget,” he confessed.

In August 2016, Gareth had an appointment with a hepatologist, who confirmed the diagnosis: there was no more doubt that Gareth had primary sclerosing cholangitis. “The scan of my liver showed that I had widespread inflammation and scarring throughout my bile ducts. It was a lot to take in. I was 31 years old. I had a wife and young baby to look after, not to mention a good full-time job that I enjoyed.” he said.

A rollercoaster period

After his diagnosis, Gareth went through ups and downs. From September 2016 to May 2017, his health was rather stable. “This was a strange period as physically I didn’t feel sick, and my health was fairly stable with the exception of some fatigue. These months were mentally challenging and more about coming to terms with having the diagnosis and what that meant for me and my family,” he said. The following years were difficult yet promising for Gareth as he experienced several episodes of sickness and stability, which included unplanned hospitalizations, procedures, and drug trials.

In September 2021, after his liver functions showed a decline, Gareth was finally listed for a liver transplant. “I was monitored closely following the transplant assessment and due to the continuing decline of my liver function tests, I received a call from my consultant (on my birthday!) that I would be listed the following week. I went live on the transplant list on the 23rd of September 2021,” he shared.

Later that year, Gareth was hospitalized because of a suspected infection. “I was monitored in hospital overnight. I responded well to the antibiotics and required no further treatment in the hospital,” he said. However, during the following months, his blood tests started to show some deterioration. “My liver function tests started to deteriorate at a much faster rate than ever before. I was more noticeably jaundiced and very fatigued all the time. I visited the transplant clinic every 6-8 weeks to carry out blood tests and monitoring,” he shared.

The call

Gareth got the call in the early morning of May 16, 2022. “I received a call from the transplant coordinator advising that an offer of a liver was available for me. She warned me that it was very early stages in the process, and we wouldn’t know if the transplant would go ahead or not for several hours.” Gareth and his wife had everything planned to ensure that their daughter’s routine would not change that much based on this piece of news. “I drove myself to the hospital. My wife stayed with my daughter and took her to school. Then, she joined me at the hospital a few hours later. We found out at approximately 6:30 that evening that the operation would be going ahead,” he said.

After the operation, Gareth woke up in the ICU feeling frightened because he wasn’t yet able to breathe on his own. Besides, while he was still recovering, he had to go back to the operating room because there was some bile in one of his drain bags, which could be an indication that there was a leak. Fortunately, the doctors made the right decision in taking Gareth back to surgery, and doing the urgent procedure to handle the issue was successful.

Gareth remembers that “after 7 extremely tough, uncomfortable days of being cared for by amazing nurses in the ICU and High Dependency Unit, I was finally moved to the transplant ward where I started to improve quite quickly.” Despite this, there were several things that he had to do before he could go home, like walking up the stairs, being able to consume enough calories to contribute to his own recovery, and being able to manage his medication.

Finally, he was discharged 14 days after his surgery. “I can’t thank the entire liver transplant team enough for their outstanding care and continuing support,” he said.

After the surgery

After receiving his new liver, Gareth’s health has continued to improve. “All of my liver function tests are within normal range, which is the first time in almost 6 years.” He knows that there’s a long road ahead toward full recovery, but he’s once again very excited about his future. “I will be forever grateful and don’t yet have the words to fully describe how I feel other than my donor is a true hero,” he stated.

Gareth recently posted pictures showing the before and after his surgery, where it’s possible to notice a remarkable change in his skin color. “Organ donation really does save lives!” he captions as he looks happy with his daughter.

Even though Gareth has shown infinite gratitude toward all the medical team that had his back in this challenging journey and commitment to raising awareness regarding PSC and liver disease, he doesn’t forget how important his family has been during the hard times. “Really, the main thing is simply to get back to ’normality’ in terms of family life and having more energy to do activities with my wife and daughter. They are amazing and I couldn’t have done it without them,” he shared.

💡If you would like to find out more about organ donation in the UK and how to help, please check the following websites:

• PSC Support: https://www.pscsupport.org.uk/
• United Kingdom Organ Donation information: https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/

Do you know any other inspiring stories about organ donation? Are you a donor? Please, tell us in the comments!