Dawn Reynolds often gets a lot of questions about her son, Marquise Reynolds, 23, and his several-year medical journey and wait for a new liver.
The biggest question: Why hasn’t he gotten a transplant yet?
“It doesn’t happen overnight. There are people who have been on the transplant list for years,” she said.
Originally from Onalaska, Marquise required an emergency liver transplant in 2015 at the age of 15 because of drug reactive eosinophilia with systematic symptoms (D.R.E.S.S) had damaged his liver. That transplant lasted about four years before failing. In 2019, Marquise’s second transplant at first seemed to have gone well, but began failing within the first month. Dawn Reynolds said doctors said the first transplant failure was because of D.R.E.S.S but the doctors don’t really know why the second one failed so quickly, what caused the failure or whether it will happen again.
“They told me his immune system is unlike anything they have seen before,” she said.
Now living between Olympia and Tumwater to be closer to doctors, the Reynolds family is still waiting for Marquise’s third chance at a new liver and the hopes it might help the myriad medical conditions he now lives with. The wait can be long and full of uncertainty. For instance, Dawn said that while Marquise is in need of a liver, his status on the transplant wait list can change drastically for many different reasons such as illness or infection. On April 5, Marquise was rushed to the emergency room with what was originally thought it was high ammonia levels. Doctors soon discovered he had a brain bleed and rushed him into emergency surgery.
“They told me if I hadn’t brought him in when I did, we would have woken up to him dead,” Dawn said.
Such medical emergencies are not only hard for the family, but can jeopardize Marquise’s place on the transplant list. He was prescribed Keppra to stop the seizures he was experiencing but cannot be re-listed until he gets a sign off from the seizure specialist.
“He’s on level seven of the list so, that means if a liver became available, he will not at all be on the top of the list to get it,” Dawn said. “But to get him back to the top of the list we have to do all these things and that’s scary.”
The illness caused by D.R.E.S.S and the need for a new liver makes Marquise very weak. Dawn explained that he uses a cane and can only walk short distances but needs to be constantly watched because he can fall. He also doesn’t sleep well at night and lives with mental health struggles, often worrying if he is a burden to his family.
Marquise is one of three of Dawn’s children who still live at home and who have special medical and mental health issues. To her, he is not a burden but his plight makes her sad that he has lost so many years of his young adulthood to illness. Marquise was partially through high sophomore year in high school when he got sick. He still managed to graduate and attempted to take some college courses before he became too ill to continue. She said he has watched high school friends move onto new milestones in their life and sometimes wonders if he will ever be able to do the same.
“Some days, he breaks down ‘Am I ever going to be able to pursue my dreams?’” Reynolds said. “I don’t know if he’ll ever accomplish them but I’ll fight like crazy to help him try.”
Besides getting a new liver that works and becoming healthy again, Dawn said Marquise does have a few dreams for himself. First, he would like to eventually be able to live on his own outside his mom’s house. And second, he has a dream to someday have a career working in the film industry. Dawn said she has great faith that there is a reason Marquise has made it this far and that he will someday be able to live a life without so many doctors and operations.
“I know Marquise is a fighter and no matter what he’s going to get through this,” she said. “God has done miracles in his life. I believe he will survive the next transplant and that third time’s the charm and despite the obstacles he has encountered, he will have a life.”
How to Help
A GoFundMe.com campaign is still active for anyone wishing to help the Reynolds family with medical related expenses. Donations can be made at Gofund.me/b5926b92 to follow the family’s story, like and follow Marquise’s Miracles on Facebook
