In September 2019, me (Ellie) will be attempting to climb the beast that is Mount Kilimanjaro, whilst the my sister (Megan) is completing an all mighty sky dive, both in aid for the PBC Foundation.

What is PBC?

PBC stands for Primary Biliary Cholangitis, which is a rare and chronic autoimmune disease that affects the liver, with an unknown cause. Our mum was diagnosed with this disease 9 years ago, although it is believed that she had been suffering with it for years before, and she was misdiagnosed after seeing her doctor for routine tests, before an operation.

This went on for two years, with countless trips to the doctor, and her symptoms such as fatigue and exhaustion, getting increasingly worse. Finally, a blood test result confirmed the diagnosis of PBC and, at the age of only 33, her life changed dramatically.

There were, and still are, few medications out there and our mum went through difficult times in order to try and accept her new life. It hit rock bottom when her liver test results came back and displayed that she would need to be placed on the liver transplant list and would need a transplant within the next year. 

Today, her results have improved and remain fairly constant, with the help of a new drug currently being trialed. However there is still no cure, so whilst medications may delay the liver damage, they cannot prevent it, and sufferers may eventually require a liver transplant. 

While this is a scary thought, success rates from liver transplants are relatively high, but, the issue arises as there is a great likelihood that PBC will reoccur in the new liver. 

I am therefore trekking Mount Kilimanjaro and Meg is jumping from a plane not only for our mum, but for the many others, and their families, suffering from this disease, as well as, to raise awareness and, in the hope that, any money raised, can be used for more research in finding a cure. 

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

We love you mum.