News
New Zealand woman celebrates 25th anniversary of transplant for Alpha-1 liver disease
Waikato Times
HAMILTON, New Zealand — A liver will take centre stage at Hamilton’s Riverlea Theatre tonight for a real-life performance involving drama, tears, laughter and, most of all, a happy ending.
The leading lady will be Hamilton’s Tracy Holmes, 36, who will join 90 family, friends and health professionals who have played pivotal roles in her life.
“This is my opportunity to show people how far I have come, and how well I am doing,” she says. “It’s so exciting because some of the people who are coming I haven’t seen for 25 years.”
Though every guest is special, one in particular stands out: Professor Gil Barbezat will travel from Dunedin to help Tracy celebrate the 25th anniversary of the liver transplant he successfully arranged in 1986.
“To have him here is such an honour and I’m so thankful he has made the effort to come,” Tracy says.
Born and bred in Southland, Tracy was a seemingly healthy baby. But by the time she was 15 months old her parents, Ngaire and Gary Holmes, “knew something wasn’t right”.
“She was so small. At 15 months she was about the size of an eight-month-old,” Mrs Holmes says.
Tests revealed their baby daughter had alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency: a crucial enzyme was missing from her liver. Her parents were both carriers of the disease, and neither had any symptoms. “We were told there was a one-in-three-million chance that two carriers would meet each other,” Mrs Holmes says.
