Twins were diagnosed with deadly liver disease. But only one will live, family says

As twin brothers, Nicholas and Devin Coats, 18, entered the world together. But only one of their lives will continue.

Margi Coats told WVUE her son, Nicholas, had called from his Slidell, Louisiana, high school complaining of pain in his hamstring that was so severe he couldn’t stand. When she took him to the emergency room, an ER doctor ran blood work and said his platelets were very low, she told the news station.

Coats was told to see a hematologist, according to a GoFundMe run by her daughter. She initially worried it was blood cancer, according to WVUE.

She “had no idea” that cancer would eventually become a reality, Coats said.

The woman told the doctor she had identical sons and was told that Devin should get checked too, the website said. The brothers then had a liver biopsy, WVUE reported. They were found to have a severe scar tissue on the liver, the news station.

Both were diagnosed with a deadly disease: stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver, caused by a genetic mutation, WFMY reported. But now, almost a year later, Devin’s health is expected to improve, while "Nick's now in the dying stage," according to Coats.

The reason can be blamed on timing, according to reports. Devin was able to get a new liver after both he and Nicholas were placed on a transplant list, WVUE said.

But it’s too late for Nicholas, his family says.

"None of this would have happened provided we had the liver available like we needed and there are so many other people waiting," Margi Coats told WFMY.

When asked by his doctor what his future aspirations are, Nick had said he wanted to “walk across that stage and graduate,” according to the family’s GoFundMe.

“I see it's not going to happen now,” his mother told WFMY.

Her son, Devin, will have to adjust to life without his brother, Margi Coats told the news station.

"He's trying to heal through this too," she said of Devin. "He's got his life and yet his brother doesn't. It's been very very hard for both of them."

from Health - Google News http://ift.tt/2HNd2es