ROCKWALL, TX (Aug. 17, 2022) Today the Holloway family waits on pins and needles as two members of their family – father and son – undergo life-changing surgery at Keck Hospital at the University of Southern California.
Twenty-two-year old Luke Holloway, a Rockwall ISD graduate now living in Upland, California, is in the process of receiving half a liver from his father, Shawn Holloway, who works as a nurse practitioner here in Rockwall.
Luke’s mom, Renee, explains that the liver regenerates, so in about six to eight weeks, Shawn and Luke will both have a full-sized liver.
“The one thing that Luke won’t have is a common bile duct. Since Shawn needs his common bile duct, the doctors use a part of Luke’s intestines as a substitute for his common bile duct. The body is an amazing thing,” Renee told Blue Ribbon News.
Luke was diagnosed with Crohns 12 years ago and Primary Schlerosing Cholangitis, or PSC, 11 years ago. PSC is an auto-immune disease that causes your body to attack the bile ducts in your liver. The inflammation causes scarring which causes narrowing in the ducts. This narrowing eventually restricts bile from flowing and ultimately causes cirrhosis and liver failure. Renee said that 80% of the people with PSC have either Crohns or Ulcerative Colitis.
“It is a rare disease. Only about 3% of people Crohns or Colitis will develop PSC. This is the disease that Walter Payton passed away from,” Renee said.
Over the years Luke’s disease progressed, narrowing his bile ducts and resulting in hospital stays every few weeks. He was listed on the transplant list in May.
“Most PSC patients will not be able to get a deceased donor because by the time they have the numbers to move up the UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) they will be too sick to have the surgery. Many patients will be required to find a living donor. Luckily, Luke had a few people that came forth to apply to be his donor. In the end, his dad, Shawn, was the best match,” Renee said.
She added, “I hope through our families experience with organ donation that we may be able to raise awareness for organ donation.”
Please join us in lifting the Holloway family up in prayer on this very important day. A report posted at 1 p.m. on their private Facebook page, For the Love of Luke, reports that “everything is going well and as planned.”
Stay tuned for updates, and those wishing to learn more and show their support may do so here.
By Dawn Redig, Blue Ribbon News. Story and photo shared with permission by Renee Holloway.
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