In April of 2020, David was diagnosed with a rare liver disease called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). PSC is a a very rare autoimmune disease, which impacts about .01% of the population. PSC causes inflammation of the bile ducts in the liver, which ultimately leads to narrowing and scarring of the bile ducts and cirrhosis of the liver. There is no cure for PSC, so the best solution for long term health is liver transplant. 

The narrowing of David's bile ducts has been worsening since diagnosis. At the start of 2023, his liver enzymes started to elevate, and he started experiencing symptoms of extreme fatigue, nausea, and brain fog that led to many lifestyle and work changes.

In November of 2023, the doctors started procedures called ERCPs to stent the narrowed bile ducts hoping it would improve his bile flow that would improve his symptoms. The stenting of biliary (liver) ducts is temporary in nature and the stents need to be replaced every 8-12 weeks. Unfortunately, since the start of stenting in November, David has experienced multiple bouts of infection from the stents and obstructions within the stents. He has had 7 ERCP procedures and 5 hospitalizations because of problems related to the stents. The stenting is only a bandaid fix to improve symptoms, there is no cure for PSC. The scarring of the bile ducts raises high concern for cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile ducts) as well. The best option for long term outcomes is a liver transplant. 

David has done a full transplant work up at UCSD, USC, and Intermountain Medical Center in Utah. After speaking with the surgeons at all the places, the team in Utah seems the most technically capable to perform his high risk transplant.

His last were stents placed in the bile duct in January, those migrated up the bile duct and they have been unable to remove them after multiple attempts. He had a shunt surgery done in Utah to decrease the pressure of the liver system to make an easier and less risky attempt to remove the stents, however the ERCP after the shunt surgery was still unsuccessful in removing them. 

On 4/23 David was officially listed for deceased donor liver transplant at Intermountain Medical Center in Utah. We are currently in Utah waiting for a call for a donor liver. 

We appreciate the love, support, and prayers for him and our family. We will do our best to update this page with current information on his health journey. 

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