Baby born with no gallbladder was so yellow he looked like he had been "coloured in with a highlighter"
- last year
A baby born with no gallbladder and in need of a liver transplant was so yellow he looked like he had been "coloured in with a highlighter", his mum says.
Judah Brooks arrived after a perfectly healthy pregnancy but a few days later mum Katie Brooks, 27, noticed his skin was turning yellow.
After an ultrasound, his parents were told not to be concerned but monitor his condition.
Worried Katie then took Judah to the paediatrician and was referred to another doctor where he received another ultrasound.
Judah was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia - a condition in infants in which the bile ducts outside and inside the liver are scarred and blocked.
He was put on an organ transplant list and was eventually given a new liver.
Katie, a stay-at-home mum, from Charleston, West Virginia, US, said: "It was a whirlwind.
''We were in the midst of Covid and only two of us could visit Judah.
"It was super hard, you think you are coming home with a healthy baby and boom you are hit with this rare disease that you have never heard of.
"We had a perfectly healthy pregnancy ad birth we thought he was healthy.
"It started developing a few days after birth but we thought nothing of it.
"After two months he was extremely yellow, he looked like he had been coloured by a highlighter."
Judah was born in October 2020, at the Women's and Children's Hospital, Charleston weighing 6lbs 15oz.
At just a few days old, Judah was taken for an ultrasound as his parents were concerned his skin was going yellow.
The doctors were unable to locate his gallbladder but weren't concerned as they thought it might just be very small.
Later that day, Judah was discharged and his parents were told to monitor his condition.
Katie said: "I was worried that they didn't see the gallbladder. On the way home I got onto Google and it said he had Biliary Atresia.
"The next day I took him to the pediatrician who referred us to the doctor who gave him another ultrasound at two weeks old.''
The family were referred to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre in December 2020.
At seven weeks old, Judah was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia - a condition in infants in which the bile ducts outside and inside the liver are scarred and blocked.
In December 2020, Judah underwent an operation called the kasai procedure which involves removing the blocked bile ducts and replaces them with a segment of the child's own small intestine.
In April 2021, Judah went through the evaluation process for a liver transplant which ensures patients are well enough to cope with the transplant.
A month later in May, Judah was put onto the transplant list and received his match 6 weeks later on June 13, 2021.
After a successful surgery, Judah was placed in ICU to recover and then the family spent two months in the Ronald McDonald House under close observation.
Despite having a brand new liver, Judah will always be without a gallbladder.
Judah Brooks arrived after a perfectly healthy pregnancy but a few days later mum Katie Brooks, 27, noticed his skin was turning yellow.
After an ultrasound, his parents were told not to be concerned but monitor his condition.
Worried Katie then took Judah to the paediatrician and was referred to another doctor where he received another ultrasound.
Judah was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia - a condition in infants in which the bile ducts outside and inside the liver are scarred and blocked.
He was put on an organ transplant list and was eventually given a new liver.
Katie, a stay-at-home mum, from Charleston, West Virginia, US, said: "It was a whirlwind.
''We were in the midst of Covid and only two of us could visit Judah.
"It was super hard, you think you are coming home with a healthy baby and boom you are hit with this rare disease that you have never heard of.
"We had a perfectly healthy pregnancy ad birth we thought he was healthy.
"It started developing a few days after birth but we thought nothing of it.
"After two months he was extremely yellow, he looked like he had been coloured by a highlighter."
Judah was born in October 2020, at the Women's and Children's Hospital, Charleston weighing 6lbs 15oz.
At just a few days old, Judah was taken for an ultrasound as his parents were concerned his skin was going yellow.
The doctors were unable to locate his gallbladder but weren't concerned as they thought it might just be very small.
Later that day, Judah was discharged and his parents were told to monitor his condition.
Katie said: "I was worried that they didn't see the gallbladder. On the way home I got onto Google and it said he had Biliary Atresia.
"The next day I took him to the pediatrician who referred us to the doctor who gave him another ultrasound at two weeks old.''
The family were referred to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre in December 2020.
At seven weeks old, Judah was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia - a condition in infants in which the bile ducts outside and inside the liver are scarred and blocked.
In December 2020, Judah underwent an operation called the kasai procedure which involves removing the blocked bile ducts and replaces them with a segment of the child's own small intestine.
In April 2021, Judah went through the evaluation process for a liver transplant which ensures patients are well enough to cope with the transplant.
A month later in May, Judah was put onto the transplant list and received his match 6 weeks later on June 13, 2021.
After a successful surgery, Judah was placed in ICU to recover and then the family spent two months in the Ronald McDonald House under close observation.
Despite having a brand new liver, Judah will always be without a gallbladder.