The family of brave Angus boy Kenzy Oliver hope it won’t be long before he is able to return home to their home in Arbroath.
The youngster, who has rare liver disease biliary atresia, underwent a liver transplant in December at King’s College Hospital in London.
Complications meant he stayed 60 days in the hospital before being well enough to fly on an air ambulance to Ninewells Hospital last Wednesday.
Parents Nicky and Michelle are relieved Kenzy is one step closer to home but the family is currently “in limbo” as they await the results of tests which will dictate whether he stays at Ninewells, returns to King’s or is allowed home.
Nicky said: “The staff at Ninewells are fantastic and we just need some more medical tests finalised to make sure he is stable and able to come home.
“Unfortunately he got norovirus the day after he came here which has set him back a bit.
“The staff are closely monitoring everything in conjunction with King’s. We know that if there is anything abnormal then we’d be taken straight back to King’s.
“We are in that phase at the moment where we’re being told you’re almost ready to go home but we’re waiting on results and depending on what happens with that then you might stay here or go back to Kings. We are still in limbo at the moment.”
Kenzy initially responded well to his new liver but then developed difficulties with his breathing and his body rejecting the new organ.
It took some time to get the right dosage of medication to stop the body rejecting the liver and Kenzy is likely to require oxygen to breathe for the next year.
Nicky said: “The problem with his condition of his lungs didn’t emerge until after the transplant. He has a breathing condition called hepatopulmonary syndrome and caused 70% of Kenzy’s lungs to be covered in shunts.
“Initially the new liver was doing quite well but then there were problems with the body rejecting it and it was a case of tweaking the dosage of medication which was a lengthy process. We seem to have it right at the moment.
“It’s been a long couple of months. Initially Kenzy was quite upbeat and was looking forward to going running and swimming with his friends, all the things he hasn’t been able to do for the last year.
“After realising that he is going to be on oxygen for a lot longer, his mood took a dampener for a few days while he got his head around it.
“Then we had four or five weeks of being told we might get to going home. That was hard. It was a great relief when he was well enough to come back to Ninewells.”
When he is allowed to return home, Kenzy will require the use of a wheelchair to be mobile due to getting tired and fatigued.
The family expect it will be another few weeks before Kenzy would be able to return to Warddykes Primary School.
Nicky added: “We’d like to thank the whole community, the team at King’s and Ninewells. The support we’ve had just shows how good a community we have.
“Without people’s support it would have been a real struggle for us. Even the Facebook comments helps us to take our minds off things.”
