Lisa Ebdon, a recruiter from Warwickshire, does not come across as seriously ill. She goes to work, walks the dog and enjoys running with her daughter Lily. As she explains, it’s only when she takes off her glasses that most people realise what she’s dealing with.
“People are shocked and surprised when they find out that I need a liver transplant. Then I take off my glasses and they see the ‘yellows’ of my eyes,” she says.
Lisa has primary biliary cholangitis, a rare autoimmune disease of the liver, with symptoms including jaundice and itching. She was first diagnosed 11 years ago, following the birth of her daughter, and until very recently was able to manage the illness through medication.
Unfortunately, her condition deteriorated, and she was placed on the urgent waiting list for a liver transplant in July 2018.
“I didn’t want to tell Lily anything about the test results until I was listed because it was all so up in the air,” she says. “But she has seen me take tablets all my life and has reacted really well; she has just dealt with it.”
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