Baby awaits lifesaving transplant

The next six months offer the best chances for a long life for tiny Andrew Merriman.

Andrew is 6 months old and suffers from biliary atresia.

That means he doesn't have a bile duct between his liver and small intestine.

"It's like having a toilet and a septic tank - with nothing in between," according to his father, Nick, 30.

The medical world does not know what causes this condition.

The boy is on waiting lists for a liver transplant. His father is being tested as a potential donor because a donated partial liver is just as good as an entire one.

The best time for a transplant is when Andrew is between 6 and 12 months old. Without a transplant, Andrew cannot be expected to live much past 16 months, his parents said.

Friends of Loretta and Nick Merriman are holding a benefit dinner and auction tonight to help defray the family's massive expenses for medications and routine trips to Children's Hospital in Seattle.

The event will run from 5 p.m. to midnight at the Eagles Lodge on First Street West in Kalispell.

Donations can be mailed to Kim Read, 2250 U.S. 93 N., Kalispell, MT 59901. Checks should be made payable to the "Andrew Merriman Medical and Rehabilitation Fund."

Roughly one out of every 10,000 to 20,000 babies in the United States is affected by biliary atresia.

"Statistically, there should be at least four babies in the same condition in Flathead County," Andrew's mother Loretta, 32, said.

Andrew is her second child, after her 13-year-old daughter Page Hamann.

Screening during Loretta's pregnancy indicated a chance of Andrew having Down syndrome, which led to extra tests as well as worried parents.

Andrew was born without Down syndrome.

But the boy's bilirubin count was high in his blood. Bilirubin comes from a biochemical breakdown of hemoglobin, and elevated levels are an indication of some diseases and disorders.

He went through exams and tests in Kalispell, Spokane and eventually Seattle - which led to the discovery he didn't have a gall bladder and the appropriate bile duct.

Surgery was scheduled to directly attach Andrew's liver to his small intestine - a standard treatment - but complications arose that led to the decision that a liver transplant would be the best choice.

Loretta and Nick Merriman have been longtime wildland firefighters for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. However, Loretta had to drop out to be a full-time mother for the undersized Andrew. Nick works part-time for the state between fire seasons.

Their insurance covers much of the basic medical costs, but the family needs money for medication and for trips to Seattle that can last as long as a couple of weeks at a time.

Life during the past six months has been up and down for the Merrimans.

Good days are when Andrew eats well and gains weight. Others are full of attempts to feed and provide medication with mixed results.

"Some days, I'd rather go into a ring with a boxer and have the snot beat out of me. Other days are phenomenally great," Loretta said.

The Merrimans are grateful to friends and strangers who have helped them out.

Loretta said: "People are providing for Andrew whom we've never met. … It's definitely not an easy time. But there've been a great amount of things I've seen as positive - the Ronald McDonald House [that provides free lodging for families of hospitalized children], the public support we've had from friends and co-workers. It has positively blown my mind."

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com