'I bin get liver of an alcoholic at age 10'

One medical student wey doctors bin tell say her liver be like dat of pesin wey dey drink wen she bin dey 10 years old tok say rowing don delay her need for liver transplant.

Dem bin diagnose Megan McGillin wit cirrhosis, or scarring of di liver, 11 years ago wey stop her liver from working well.

Liver disease for children no dey common.

One liver specialist say to dey keep fit and healthy dey play "critical role in maintaining di liver in a stable condition".

Cirrhosis no get cure and dem no go fit reverse am, and many of di liver disorders wey dey cause cirrhosis in children no dey preventable.

For Megan case, doctors no know how she take get am, but dem say di damage fit eventually become serious to di extent wey her liver fit stop to function, wey fit make am fail.

"[Doctors] tell me, initially wen dem bin diagnose me say, wen I reach 18 years I go do transplant, but I dey keep fit and well," Megan tok.

"Den wen I bin dey 16 or 17, dem tell me definitely say by 21 I go need transplant.

"Wen I reach 21 years in November, I no get any transplant for my birthday.

"I just continue to dey power through, so now dem don remove all di timelines."

Liver disease like cirrhosis, fit cause portal hypertension and enlarged spleen.

For Megan case e mean say she need to give up contact sports wey she tok say na "major tin" for her.

She later join rowing and she row on di Irish high-performance squad for a couple of years wen she dey school.

Megan say dis rowing keep her very fit and "as much as I struggled, na di high intensity sport wey I tink keep me well all these years because I bin dey do training and look afta myself on di inside".

She believe say keeping fit na im make her liver to kontinu to function for so long.

Dr Girish Gupte, one consultant paediatric liver specialist for Birmingham Women and Children hospital, dey do outreach clinics for di Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children six times a year.

"Liver disease no dey common well well in children, so na why a majority of di population fit neva hear about children wey get chronic liver problems," im tok.

"Di incidents of liver disease dey different from one in 10,000 within di UK population, to some of di oda liver diseases wey fit be one in a million."

Dr Gupte say chronic liver diseases don increase in recent years, dis na partly becos of di advancement in testing, but im also tok say im feel say environmental factors and lifestyle dey play a role for di increased incidents of liver disease for children.

"No be all children wey get liver disease need liver transplant," im tok.

"Dem fit manage most of dis conditions wit good medical treatments and wit a good healthy lifestyle," im add.

"However, for some children progression of di liver disease to end-stage liver disease fit dey and dis children go need liver transplant, either as children or maybe as adults," im tok.

"I tink say keeping fit and healthy, eating beta healthy diet, to no allow plenti fat gada for di liver wit a healthy diet, dey play important role to keep di liver in a stable condition in di long-run and trying to delay or avoid liver transplant."

Di 'liver of an alcoholic'

Many times pipo dey tink say cirrhosis na disease wey long-term alcohol abuse dey cause.

While dis na factor sometimes in adults, cirrhosis in children dey come from wide variety of liver disorders.

Wen doctors dey explain how Megan condition serious reach, doctors tell her say she "bin get di liver of an alcoholic", wey no make sense wen she bin dey 10 years.

"I bin neva drink any alcohol before, and my mama para well well for di idea wey doctor tell me say I bin get diliver of an alcoholic," she tell BBC News NI.

"E just show di link between pipo wey get liver disease and dis assumption say e come from too much alcohol" she add.

Di 21-year-old neva drink alcohol before and e no dey her plan to drink sake of how e dey affect di liver.

'Opportunity to educate some pipo'

Megan say she bin don get different type of reactions from pipo wen sehe tell dem say she no dey drink alcohol becos she get liver disease.

Di one reaction wey she no like na wen "pipo dey say, 'oh goodness wetin you don do? Wetin you bin dey do in your younger years? How young you dey wen you start to drink or you bin don get any bad event wit alcohol or drugs wey don affect my liver so much?"

Di medical student say e dey give her "opportunity to educate some pipo say to get liver disease no necessarily dey linked to drinking alcohol or dey abusive to alcohol".

'My normal dey different'

She say to get di diagnosis bin "fear" her, but she know say she fit live wit di condition, albeit wit limitations, as di condition dey make her tire quick quick.

"For outside I look normal, I dey do normal tins," she tok.

"Now wetin I dey call my normal dey different from my 'age mates' dia normal. I need to get limitations on myself - on certain tins I fit and no fit do.

"Na mostly about managing my energy levels."

While she dey positive about di future she say you "no fit really get a plan" wit liver disease.

"I fit wake up tomorrow and dey completely yellow, jaundiced skin and I go know say my liver bin don start to fail," she tok.

"E fit end up eventually wit a transplant.

"E fit be tomorrow, e fit be next week, five years, 10 years, I no know," she tok.

Megan say if and wen dat time come, she no go fear "to allow herself di opportunity to collect organ from anoda pesin and e go dey amazing".

She add say: "Organ donation dey really save life, but na decision wey still dey make pipo fear becos you no know wetin fit happun.

"You no know if your body go accept am or if oda secondary diseases or infections dey wey you fit get afta dem do di surgery because na major surgery.

"My liver as e dey now dey work.

"E no dey work at full capacity but anytin wey e dey do, e dey do am well.

"You get to wait until e gets to a certain level of liver function, or your condition don affect your lifestyle in such a way wey be say you dey extremely poor, but di longer my biological, di liver wey dey born me wit, stay inside me di more e go dey beta."