LIVER STARS
Hi, I'm
Molly Clark
I'm thirteen years old and I was born with Biliary Atresia. I want to raise awareness of liver disease, so no more babies need to suffer from this disease.
Basketball lover, Star Student, Charismatic Liver Disease Advocate, the story of Molly Clark:
“My liver disease isn’t a disease for me, it’s just me. I’m very positive and optimistic. I think of the glass as half full, I mean at least I still have a half a drink left.” Molly Clark
Molly was born December 30, 2009, and appeared to be a healthy baby. My husband and I were thrilled to have a gorgeous baby girl. Our little family’s hopes and dreams were coming true. But twenty-four hours after she was born, jaundice set in, and our happiness turned into worry. While jaundice is fairly normal in newborns and very treatable, Molly's jaundice was more serious and life-threatening. As her pediatrician checked her bilirubin every few hours, he took note that her liver was not processing and passing the bilirubin as it should. This discovery landed her in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and started the long ordeal of discovering what was wrong with her and how to save our precious baby girl.
Hi, I'm
Alyssa McCarty
I'm sixteen years old and I was diagnosed with Auto Immune Hepatitis when I was twelve.
My Story
Let me introduce myself. I am Alyssa and I have auto-immune hepatitis. I was diagnosed at age 12 but that has not stopped me from pursuing my passions. My liver disease journey started in 2019 when I was getting routine blood work done for my annual physical. When my doctor received the results of my test it revealed that my liver enzyme levels were slightly elevated. I had no clue what this meant and did not even question that it could possibly affect the rest of my life. We debated on whether this could be because I was becoming healthier in terms of diet and exercise, or if this could be something more alarming and dangerous. I started off by getting an ultrasound to see if the doctors could see signs of liver damage or scarring. Following the ultrasound, I had many blood tests done to constantly check the level of my liver enzymes. I officially became a liver patient and began visiting my gastroenterologist, Dr. Grant, at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in April of 2019.
In November of 2019, my doctor ordered a biopsy of the liver. At the time I did not understand what a biopsy meant nor that it could change my life. I asked many questions about the procedure until I felt comfortable with my knowledge of what was going to occur. For the most part I didn’t feel sick and was carrying on with my normal everyday life. After almost a year of not knowing what was causing my elevated liver enzymes, I longed for answers. My biopsy was scheduled for January of 2020.