A mum has told how her seriously ill son who became ‘lifeless’ and turned yellow was given a second chance thanks to a liver transplant. Jim Goldie, now 13, from Annan, Dumfriesshire, made a dramatic turnaround from the operating theatre to winning his schools sports day race, just six months later.
Jim, aged nine at the time, was saved by a vital organ donation at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds, in August 2020, 77 days after being placed on the transplant list due to his failing liver, brought on by a rare condition he battled since birth.
His mum Trisha Goldie has revealed how his life was completely transformed with Jim now thriving as a football star for his local team. Trisha told the Record: “Jim didn’t have a life before his transplant. He was always in and out of hospital. He was very ill. He wasn’t fit to enjoy life, he was constantly floored.
“Although he would go to school and try and join in, he was too tired to function normally. Having a failing liver was energy sapping for him. He had turned yellow, and his eyes were sunken in, he was just very poorly, he looked lifeless.
“He’s now living a normal life, he plays football as a goalkeeper for Gretna. It’s been like having a different child. Six months after the surgery, he won his school sports day. All the teachers were in tears.
Jim, who lives on his family’s cattle farm, run by dad Jim Goldie Snr, 59, was diagnosed with Biliary Artresia from birth, a condition that caused a blockage in the tubes that take bile from the liver to the gallbladder.
Surgeons had to attach his liver to his gut and remove his gallbladder when he was just 12 days old. But the surgery only temporary fixed the problem
Trisha added: “There were times we thought Jim wasn’t going to pull through. He had major surgery 11 days after he was born. His condition is so rare, there are only something like 40 babies a year born with it.
“There was always a fear that his liver could fail. He spent his life constantly fighting serious infections that came from his gut and spread to his liver. He spent weeks in crippling pain, it was horrible to see. When we were told he was on the transplant list it was a relief.”
Rangers fan Jim, who has three brothers, Niall, 28, Andrew, 34, and Robert, 31, spent days in hospital after his liver transplant. He was left terrified that his body would reject the new organ, but he was given a huge boost when he was sent a video from his Ibrox heroes, including Jermaine Defoe and Ryan Jack.
Mum Trisha added: “From that moment on, Jim never looked back. He didn’t speak about rejection, he just thought about getting home, playing football, and watching Rangers win the league – which they did that season. It was an amazing turnaround.”
Trisha was speaking ahead of organ donation week, which runs from today – Monday, September 23 – 29. It comes as the Record have highlighted the desperate need for young Scots tot Zachary Bradford to have a double small bowel and liver transplant.
Trisha says she hopes her son’s story can inspire others to have a conversation around becoming an organ donor. She said: “I’ve seen what that poor family are going through and it’s heartbreaking. I just want all that weight to be lifted off their shoulders. When you’re living like that every day feels like a year.
“We just need people to have a conversation about organ donation. When someone dies it is such a difficult decision, but Jim is proof of how life changing it can be. He’ll be able to live a full life, thanks to another family out there, who gave us the greatest gift and we’ll be forever grateful to them.”
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