A dad who feels 'pregnant' with beach ball belly needs life-saving treatment
David Burgess was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Wilson's disease in 2005.
The condition is caused by excess copper in body tissues, particularly the liver, brain and corneas of the eyes and can cause liver (hepatic) disease, central nervous system dysfunction and even death.
The 37-year-old now has his worst bout of symptoms since he was 20 when the illness was diagnosed.
He is waiting in hospital to learn whether he will be getting a new liver and said "it is all a bit scary at the moment", reports the Liverpool Echo.
David, became jaundiced on April 10, also battling ascites which is a fluid build up in your abdomen and lower limbs, causing his stomach to swell.
While at Royal Liverpool Hospital, David had "all kinds" of tests done on him and was treated with antibiotics as the doctors thought he had an infection in the water around his liver.
However, he was unfortunately and unknowingly allergic to two different types of the treatments tried.
He said: “They asked was I allergic to anything and I said no and then we realised that I must have been allergic to the antibiotic.
"My legs went into a mad rash. They tried me on a different one and my arms went into a different rash."
David was later referred to a liver specialist unit in Birmingham, where he has now been for two weeks. He said: “They have basically given me a full MOT."
He is currently waiting until his stomach can be drained since it is still swollen and full of fluid - however complications mean it can’t be done as soon as he would like.
“I’m usually 14 stone 11 and I have gone up to 17 stone due to the fluid. My legs are like balloons too and my feet are massive," he said.
“It’s like being pregnant - that’s the feeling of it. That’s what they’ve all said because you get the stretches at the bottom of the stomach.
"I get under-stomach stretching pains. It’s probably the size of a beach ball.”
David is also currently awaiting the decision of whether or not he will be eligible for a liver transplant. He said: “It’s all a bit scary at the moment.”
He explained his body needs to be healthy enough to endure the six hour operation and hopes for positive news on Friday, when his medical team will meet to discuss his next options.
David added: "The most upsetting thing is my family can’t visit me because it’s like a two hour drive for them so I have been in hospital on my own for a bit.”
Visitors aren’t allowed on the ward so he needs to go to a communal area of the hospital to see them.
Speaking of his children - Emelia, five, and Caleb, two - David said: “That’s why I’m fighting, because I’ve got to be here for them. I’m 37 years old so I've got everything to live for but it’s just scary.
"Ideally I don’t want to have the transplant but if they say if that’s the option then I will.”
A close friend of David, Charlotte Smith, has set up a GoFundMe page to help him as he recovers as he has been left unable to work.
On the page, she describes him as: "genuine, positive and thoughtful person and always goes out of his way to be of help or be supportive."
David is a full time professional magician who has performed all over the world, including attending Alder Hey Children's Hospital to put on a show for the kids.
But while he is in hospital, he can't do his normal gigs.
He said that since the GoFundMe was created, several people have reached out to him with their own stories, with some reassuring him they have been through the same and been fine. He said he has been overwhelmed with the response so far and finds comfort in having people to talk to.
When the David finally gets home from Birmingham hospital, he will be staying with his parents in Southport, awaiting the all important call to say he will be getting a new liver.
It will be a long two and a half hour journey for him back to the hospital, but with hope and a new prognosis at the end.
