It was Dan’s freshman year of high school. He was excited to start school and be a member of the water polo team. He had a great season and then went on to play freshman basketball. Dan started to become tired at the end of basketball season, but we (his parents) had no idea he was feeling so ill and having irregular bowel movements.

Dan started to swim for the high school swim team in March. In the beginning of March we found out that we were moving to a new state. Life was very busy and chaotic to say the least. My husband and I left to look for a house in our new destination. While we were away, Dan called to tell us he was very sick.

Upon arriving home late that evening we allowed Dan to sleep in and when he awoke, we took him to the doctors. The doctor informed us that Dan needed to see a GI doctor, because he was fairly sure Dan had colitis or Crohn’s disease. Needless to say, we were devastated that he was going to have to live his life with one of these two diseases. Dan had been sick for quite awhile and never told us how ill he was feeling. As soon as he ate something, he immediately had to go to the bathroom.

We made an appointment to see Dr. Davies, and we explained to her we were moving in the summer and were very anxious to get Dan feeling better quickly. Dr. Davies ran a bunch of tests and drew more blood to check Dan’s liver functions. Upon receiving these results, she asked to do a liver biopsy on Dan while doing the scheduled colonoscopy. After receiving the results of the biopsy, she explained to us that Dan did in fact have PSC and that we were lucky that at this point he had no liver damage. He was a candidate to begin the Vancomycin Study. Telling our 14 year old son that he was diagnosed with an incurable liver disease was heart wrenching.

Dan started the medicine in May and within two weeks he was starting to feel better. Dan went on to have great high school years, and he played on the Varsity basketball team. He will soon graduate from college. This would never have been possible without the dedication of Dr. Davies and her staff. It is a true miracle that Dan was diagnosed before we moved out of state. We are so proud of how well Dan has handled this disease and the responsibility of taking his medication daily.