At four weeks old our daughter Eloisa was called back to hospital to have blood tests as doctors were concerned about her still being jaundiced. Just over a week later having had many more blood tests and a liver biopsy we were told that she had a condition called Biliary Atresia and that she would need to undergo major surgery in order to prevent liver failure. Two days later we left our little baby on the operating table to undergo life saving surgery. The operation was a success and after a week of recovery we headed home to start our new life with all of the concerns and complications that this entails.

Biliary Atresia is a rare liver condition that an estimated 34 babies in the UK are born with each year. It prevents the drainage of bile from the liver due to blocked or absent bile ducts, with the back up of bile eventually causing liver failure if left untreated. The operation performed to save the liver, called a Kasai procedure, removes these blocked ducts and creates a new path for bile to drain. Whilst this helps preserve the native liver, a number of complications arise out of this including susceptibility to liver infection, called Cholangitis, Cirrhosis and Portal Hypertension, whilst physical and mental development is also impacted due to the liver being less effective at digesting food and absorbing vitamins and nutrients. Even with a successful operation, two thirds of babies who are diagnosed with Biliary Atresia eventually require a liver transplant.

I am running the Valencia marathon in aid of The Foundation for Liver Research, a charity that specialises in liver research to help better diagnose and treat liver disease, in order to help Eloisa and children like her stand a better chance of living a happy and fulsome life with this disease and stand the best chance possible for a transplant should the need arise.