Amanda P.

Autoimmune Hepatitis

Being a type 1 diabetic since the age of 12, I was very aware of how my body functioned. When I was 22 years old, I started noticing something wasn’t quite right with me. At first, I thought I was crazy because the only sign that I had, was the discoloration Of my urine.

No matter what I did or how I felt, the color just wasn’t normal. After months of questions and tests, I was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis.

I had never heard of it, most people hadn’t. I had learned that it was very rare and not much was known about it. I spent a few years with a gastroenterologist and decided that it wasn’t working out for me.

I started to see a liver specialist. Over the next ten years, I was put on every medication possible, had every test done and seen every doctor in order to help control this disease. I have been hospitalized more times than I can count and almost lost my life on multiple occasions. My life has not been normal since that fateful day. My body has been through the ringer yet it never wants to give up. I was diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis in 2016, which I am still battling. I am hoping for a liver transplant one day. Through all of this, the love and support of my family and friends has kept me fighting. Maybe one day I will write a book about my experiences so that they may help others going through the same thing. Amanda’s advice?

Do not ever give up. Know that you are not alone in this fight!