The mum of a teenager living with a liver disease after it is believed they contracted Hepatitis A from seafood has told of her “devastation” at her child’s illness.
Kai McCulloch was just seven years old when they became seriously unwell after eating fish while on a family holiday in Majorca, in 2015.
After returning home to Scotland, Kai, who is now 13, developed serious stomach pains and suffered nose bleeds, Daily Record reports.
The family made a series of trips to A&E to try and work out what was wrong, but could get no answers. Eventually a specialist doctor organised a biopsy, to determine if they had Hepatitis A.
Doctors believed the illness had been triggered by eating the infected fish.
Kai's family said the seafood had been stored with mussels, which were more likely to carry the risk of food poisoning. However, they were told they could not know for certain where the virus originated.
While Hepatitis A is not always serious and can be treated, Kai's symptoms continued to worsen.
Kai’s spleen had became swollen as a result of the virus and, despite doctors initially saying things would improve, further tests revealed that Kai had an overlap of Autoimmune Hepatitis and Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a form of liver disease which attacks the bile ducts and can have life debilitating effects.
The nosebleeds Kai had been suffering were a result of heavy blood clots from the virus.
Kai, from Clydebank in Scotland, who identifies as gender fluid, now lives with the potentially deadly condition which causes their immunity to be severely low.
Small illnesses can run the risk of deadly infection, including pneumonia and sepsis.
Their mum Elaine McCulloch, 39, told how Kai’s illness has devastated the family after Kai recently suffered an abscess and was rushed into hospital for emergency surgery.
Elaine said: “When Kai first contracted Hepatitis A we were told they would get better but it didn’t happen. They had really sore stomachs and infection which affected the bowel. We kept going up to A&E and knew something was wrong.
“We didn’t understand why it was happening at first. Kai was asking me why they had to go to hospital and why they had to get the liver biopsy.
“People think liver disease in children is quite rare and unique but the more that I have been meeting people I’m realising it’s quite common."
“Kai is slightly more rare than others because they have an overlap condition.
“When you get the news that your child has got a life debilitating illness, it is devastating.
“It rips your heart right out.”
She added: “It’s been so hard for Kai and because they’re now at the teenage stage it’s more difficult. Knowing you’re different from others and have to take lots of medication is really hard."
Kai now takes multiple forms of medication however it is unclear whether they will need a liver transplant in the future.
Elaine said: “If Kai’s health deteriorates further then we will have to deal with that when it happens. In the future they might need a transplant.
“There’s not a direct scale of how long Kai will live, it’s all to do with how well they keep. The medication may be enough but most people end up needing a liver transplant at some point in their life. Some people live with this right up to their 60s, but for others it’s their 20s.”
For now, hospital visits, scans and blood tests are a regular part of Kai’s life.
But Elaine and husband Marc, also 39, remain determined for them to have a normal teenage life.
Now the mum is urging other parents to be persistent when they feel there is something wrong with their child, even when getting a diagnosis is difficult.
Elaine said: “For us, getting the diagnosis was the hardest part.
"But you have to follow your instinct if you know there’s something wrong with your child. Persist and do not think you’re being a pest by going back and forth to A&E."
Kai is also raising money for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation who have supported the family through the years.
The family, alongside Kai’s sibling Cam, 16, are aiming to raise over £700 before Christmas for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation.
Anything extra raised will be split between Dreamflight and Wee Scottish Livers which are organisations close to Kai’s heart.
To support the family's fundraiser click here.
