MOUNTAIN VIEW — Two weeks ago, on Feb. 19, Bryan and Julie Duncan of Mountain View celebrated the one-year anniversary of Bryan’s liver transplant.
They celebrated with Julie’s parents, and she made her best attempt at making a “liver cake.”
“I remember going to bed the night before [the transplant] and thinking about how Bryan probably wasn’t going to be able to sleep with anticipation, and neither would I,” Julie said in a recent post on the Facebook page Bryan’s Health Journey. “We said a prayer together. Then it was silent for maybe five minutes before I said anything. Bryan didn’t respond — he was already asleep.
“He had such peace and confidence, knowing everything would be OK, and he had no trouble sleeping.”
Julie’s dad, Garry Stewart, was the donor for Bryan.
“At 59 years old, he was the oldest transfer they have ever done it on,” Julie said. “At the beginning, the Mayo Clinic wouldn’t transfer anybody over 55. It wasn’t an option. He was willing, but he was too old.”
When the clinic moved up the age, Stewart said, “that was my prayer.”
“So I could do that for Bryan,” Stewart said. “That’s what I wanted.”
He said with an organ like the liver that can regenerate itself, even in a 60-year-old person, it could be as good as a 20-year-old.
“It is the rest of the body that you have to worry about,” Stewart said.
According to a story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette from 2016, Bryan first had his blood tested with his father’s, but it was not a match. Three other friends volunteered, but it was Stewart who turned out to be the best candidate.
“The hardest part, I think, was knowing that I could die doing this,” Stewart said. “Even the doctors talking to me, they would tell me, ‘Without another liver, Bryan is going to die.’
“But it is hard for them, too, because they are taking a perfectly healthy person, and they could die or have health complications for the rest of their life.
“So that was always a back-door fear, but looking back on it, I’d do it again in a heartbeat and not lose a moment’s sleep.”
Julie said once the clinic raised the age, Stewart didn’t back down.
“It was meant for him to do it,” she said. “He blew through all the tests.”
She said there was a week-long series of tests, and each day, he would pass.
“They put you through a stress test. They check you from head to toe — psychology test, understanding what you are doing and what you are giving up …,” Julie said.
“They test your heart, your lungs. They do a blood test, and they basically make sure you are healthy enough to survive the surgery,” she said.
“Going through those tests was probably the biggest mental strain on me I have ever had,” Stewart said, “because I knew, every day, ‘I’ve got to pass this.’ It was hard.”
Bryan has a rare liver disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). It is a disease that causes the body to destroy the bile ducts in and outside of the liver and, over time, leads to cirrhosis and liver failure.
There is currently no treatment for PSC, and a liver transplant is the only thing that can help someone with PSC prolong his or her life.
“The most important thing right now is to remain positive,” Bryan said. “Things could always be worse.
“The best advice I can give is to plan ahead and know what is going on with your health.”
Bryan said his faith plays a main factor in his optimism.
“I want to live, and it is not going to help to be depressed or down because of what is going on,” Bryan said.
“I can’t get caught up in emotions, but it is hard work going to the hospital, and it is a lot of learning and work,” he said.
“I could be lazy and not make the trips to Minnesota, but wanting to stay alive is a big push,” he said.
“Bryan has always been a positive guy,” Julie said. “When he sets his mind to something, he is pretty determined.
“When he found out he was going to need a transplant, he said, ‘OK. How do I do that?’ He wanted to be a step ahead and stay as healthy as possible.”
Right now, Bryan is fighting an antibody-mediated rejection, meaning his immune system has formed antibodies against the new liver that are trying to destroy it.
“That started about four months ago,” Julie said.
“It is pretty rare,” Bryan said. “It happens in the heart and the kidneys more.
“They don’t have a good record or protocol. If [the antibodies] start going up, I’m looking at losing this liver.”
Bryan said there are no known causes or reasons for why somebody might be diagnosed with PSC because it is such a rare disease.
“I know they are doing a bunch of studies to figure out what might be the cause,” Bryan said. “It might be different things in different people. But PSC mainly describes what is going on in a person’s body, so it could be caused by a few different things.”
Bryan and Julie, who met in high school at Mountain View and have been married for 10 years, have two children — a 5-year-old son Drey, and a 3-year-old daughter, Allegra.
“They haven’t linked it enough to know whether or not it is hereditary …,” Bryan said.
“[Drey and Allegra] are old enough to know that I am sick and that I have to go to the doctor, but they don’t fully understand.”
“They pray for him each night,” Julie said.
Julie graduated from Mountain View in 2006 and from Arkansas State University-Jonesboro in 2010. She is in her first year as a pre-K teacher at Mountain View Elementary School.
Bryan, who graduated from Mountain View in 2003 and from ASU in 2008, works for the school district as a computer technician.
“The community has really been amazing in supporting us with tons of different fundraisers, and everyone helps and prays for Bryan,” Julie said. “Mountain View has really been supportive, as well as Stone County in general.”
Julie said a family friend set up a GoFundMe campaign, and in one month, it has already raised $9,000. To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/bryan-duncan.
“His mom and dad live in Stone County, and I knew his family well before he started dating my daughter,” Stewart said. “He comes from a good family.
“The whole county has just been unbelievable. You can tell they really love Bryan.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.