Help Mason's Liver Transplant Recovery

My younger brother, Mason, was born 8 weeks early weighing only 3lbs at birth. He is now an adult married to his wife, Angela. While he has been able to grow and live his life, it has not come without medical challenges. I remember the first time Mason was hospitalized at the age of 4. Our family spent Christmas time in the hospital while the doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with him. He ended up being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at a very young age. He’s had to be on medication his whole life and constantly getting colonoscopies to make sure things are functioning as best as they can.

A few years ago he started to have issues with his liver. The ducts were not opening up enough to release bile so it was collecting and making him sick. His skin and eyes would turn yellow and he would be low on energy. The doctors put a temporary stint to open up the ducts and he started returning to normal. Him and Angela got married in 2022 and right before his wedding they removed the stint. On his wedding day he was still feeling sick. He was very low energy and the whites of his eyes were the most yellow we had ever seen them. He trudged on through his actual wedding day trying to make it through while feeling sick. They left on their honeymoon to Florida and ended up needing to be hospitalized. He had an infection from the stint removal. they gave him antibiotics to help the infection, but the doctors also noticed something was still off with his liver. When he returned home and saw his primary doctor, he found out that he has a liver disease. His ducts were never going to open enough to properly filter out the bile. The doctors had told him that at some point he would likely need a liver transplant.

It has been a few years that he’s been managing his health and earlier this year his liver symptoms started to get a lot worse. He has been in and out of the hospital since March. His bilirubin levels got so high that they put him on the transplant list in April. An adult should have bilirubin levels below 1.2, and at Mason’s peak he was at 30. His whole body was the most yellow it had ever been. The bile was leaking into his blood causing him to itch all the time. He did not have any energy and was having to call out of work. He has lost 30lbs since March. About a week ago he was able to get a liver transplant. The hope is that his body accepts it and he can return to his normal life, at least normal for him.

His wife is currently in medical school and he is having to take 4-6 months off work to heal. He will be on additional medication the rest of his life. I wanted to start this fundraiser to help them raise money to cover his medical debt and to help them while he can’t work. Any donation is so appreciated!