Skating On Thin Ice

Treatment TermsChildren's health Sub-Title Life-Threatening Condition Discovered After Fall During Hockey Game Author Burgetta Wheeler Overview Colby Heath was a growing teenage boy, so his penchant for sleep didn't concern his mother. Nor did his occasional nosebleeds. Yet, as Colby's family now knows, those were clues that something was horribly wrong. Hero Imageskating_on_thin_ice_3.jpg Preview Image Content Blocks Header Playing Hockey was Risk Factor for Congenital Liver Abnormality Content“He went from being a seemingly healthy kid who plays hockey to a kid who needs aliver transplant in a very short span of time, ” said Megan Butler, MD, a  hepatologist who treated Colby atDuke Children ’s Hospital.In fact, it was playing hockey that likely saved Colby ’s life. During a game early in 2015, a body check sent Colby to the ice, where he alarmingly remained. He couldn ' t  feel his legs, he said. Taken to an emergency department, he eventually regained sensation and walked out of the hospital that night.At his hockey evaluations that fall, however, he reported that he was still having occasional numbness in his legs. His parents, Naomi and Brian Askew of Apex, North Carolina, both emergency department nurses, immediately had him evaluated at a Wake County hospital.Tests showed that Colby had a rare congenital liver abnormality. His portal vein was missing, and his body had responded by creating new pathways for blood that...
Source: dukehealth.org: Duke Health News - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Source Type: news