GARETH ANDERSON, the 19-year-old Newtownards man whose liver failed after drinking binges and was said to have only weeks to live, is now showing strong signs of recovery, according to his father Brian.
Gareth Anderson was yesterday transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast after six weeks of treatment in King’s College Hospital in London.
"The news is absolutely fantastic. His liver is beginning to revitalise and our hope now is that he won't need a liver transplant," Mr Anderson told The Irish Times.
Gareth Anderson was transferred to King’s hospital from the Ulster hospital in Dundonald in east Belfast after his father campaigned on his behalf. He was first admitted to hospital with suspected liver failure at the start of August after a number of drinking binges.
Consultants at the time said he could not be put on a waiting list for a liver transplant until he was alcohol-free for six months. Mr Anderson argued that this was unfair as doctors had told Gareth his liver was so badly damaged he could be dead within three weeks.
His situation was not helped when he left his hospital bed in the Ulster hospital and crossed the road to a local pub and tried to order a drink.
Nonetheless, mostly due to the campaigning of his father, King’s College agreed to treat him without making any commitments about a possible liver transplant. At one stage while Gareth was in intensive care in King’s, his family was called to the hospital as it was feared he would die, explained Brian Anderson.
“But he gradually improved and recent blood and other tests indicated that his liver was revitalising,” he added. “He will continue to be monitored to see what should happen next.
“His liver is recovering like a champion so hopefully he won’t need a transplant. We won’t know for sure for two to three months. But King’s have an interest in Gareth now and if it comes to a transplant the hospital seems willing to put him on a waiting list. But hopefully, it won’t come to that,” added Mr Anderson.
He said that, while in intensive care, 12 people had died from liver failure in King’s. “Gareth knows in his gut that he can’t drink again, that he has to be a good boy. He has got a rub of the green and he knows that,” he added.
Mr Anderson said that as well as liver treatment, Gareth would be receiving continuing counselling and support to ensure he stayed off alcohol.
Mr Anderson said he wanted to thank people from all over Ireland who had supported him in practical and other ways. “There was a lot of prayer,” he said.
Mr Anderson also referred to how the Rev Ian Paisley and Baroness Eileen Paisley visited him and his son in hospital and prayed for them. “I say to my Roman Catholic friends that when I heard Dr Paisley was coming I knew that help was on the way.”
A spokesman for King’s said that while Gareth Anderson’s condition continued to improve, he still required specialist medical care.
“Liver specialists at King’s are in regular contact with doctors at the RVH in Belfast to ensure a smooth handover of Gareth’s care takes place. We would like to offer Gareth and his family all the best wishes for the future,” he added.
