Nelson's Story

Meet Nelson!

Hola, mi nombre es Lenys Oropeza, soy madre de Nelson USECHE. Somos de Venezuela. Actualmente Nelson tiene 16 años.

Nelson nació el 26 de febrero del año 2005. Fue diagnosticado a los dos meses de nacido con el Síndrome de Alegille por hipoplasia de vías biliares, vértebras en alas de mariposa, e ictericia. En ese entonces le hicieron el kasai y nos hablaron que posiblemente necesitaba un trasplante hepático.

En el año 2006 viajamos a la ciudad de Buenos Aires Argentina para el trasplante vivo relacionado, siendo yo su donante. Nelson tenía para ese entonces 1 año y 7 meses. Su médico de cabecera en el Hospital Italiano ha sido hasta la fecha el Dr Daniel D’agostino.  

Luego nelson evolucionó dentro de todo bien. En Venezuela inicia sus estudios escolares. Era controlado por la Dra Camen Esther Lopez en Caracas y a distancia por el Dr Daniel D’agostino desde Buenos Aires.

Era internado recurrentemente por otitis y una que otra neumonia.

En el año 2011 presentó una púrpura trombosistopenica que lo lleva a una esplenectomia.

En el año 2014 empezó a presentar un cuadro nefrótico severo el cual lo lleva a una insuficiencia renal crónica. En el 2015 viajamos a la Buenos Aires Argentina al Hospital Italiano en donde lo estabilizan y lo estudia un equipo multidisciplinario que le diagnostican sumado al Alagille una HIPOGAMMAGLOBULINEMIA. Esto genera que reciba cada 28 días 30g de gammablobulina desde el 2015. Desde ese entonces no hemos podido regresar a Venezuela. Entró en terapia de hemodiálisis desde el 2018 hasta que finalmente fue trasplantado de riñón  (donante cadavérico) el 8 de Julio de 2021. Y en diciembre del 2021 recibió sus implante coclear bilateral ya en el 2018 había perdido la audición. Va evolucionando bien gracias a Dios.

Le agradezco a toda la familia Alagille por todo lo que significa no sentirse solo ante tanta lucha. Para mí es un alivio saber que siempre hay una esperanza.


Hello, my name is Lenys Oropeza, I am the mother of Nelson USECHE. We are from Venezuela. Currently Nelson is 16 years old.

Nelson was born on February 26, 2005. He was diagnosed at two months of age with Alagille Syndrome due to hypoplasia of the bile ducts, vertebrae with butterfly wings, and jaundice. At that time, they did the kasai surgery and they told us that he possibly needed a liver transplant.

In 2006 we traveled to the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the related living transplant, as I was the donor. Nelson was then 1 year and 7 months old. To date, his primary care physician at the Italian Hospital has been Dr. Daniel D’agostino.

Then Nelson evolved and was all right. In Venezuela he began his school studies. His medical care was given by Dr Carmen Esther Lopez in Caracas, and remotely by Dr Daniel D’agostino from Buenos Aires. He was recurrently hospitalized for otitis and the occasional pneumonia. In 2011 he presented a thrombocytopenic purpura that led him to a splenectomy.

In 2014 he began to present severe nephrotic symptoms which led to chronic kidney failure. In 2015 we traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to the Italian Hospital where he was stabilized and studied by a multidisciplinary team who, together with Alagille experience, diagnosed him with HYPOGAMMAGLOBULINEMIA. This means that he receives 30g of gamma globulin every 28 days since 2015. Since then, we have not been able to return to Venezuela. He entered hemodialysis therapy from 2018 until he finally received a kidney transplant (cadaveric donor) on July 8, 2021. In December 2021 he received his bilateral cochlear implant and in 2018 he had lost his hearing. He is progressing well now, thank God.

I thank the entire Alagille family for everything. It means so much not to feel alone in the face of so much struggle. For me it is a relief to know that there is always hope.

More Stories

Christina

Christina

Meet Christina! My name is Christina, I’m from London. I was diagnosed

Camden

Camden

Hello, we are the Johnson family. My name is Shanda, my husband is Colt, our 6-year-old ALGS warrior is Camden, and we have a 3-year-old son Crew.

Sammy

Sammy

I am Heidi and my husband is Tim. We have two boys, Joseph is 3 and Sammy is 2. We live in Northern Utah. Sammy has Alagille Syndrome. We haven’t had genetic testing done, so we don’t know if Joseph does or if it came from either of us.