An Edinburgh University graduate has spoken of needing a liver transplant and being diagnosed with cancer after a friend noticed that his eyes were turning yellow.
Scott Fryatt, who lives on Leith Walk, had recently completed a television production degree and was working towards his PPGE in primary education when he was house sitting for a friend in Glasgow back in April 2022. He became violently sick and was struck down with severe abdominal pain.
After a while the pain subsided but he felt as though something was not right. After going for lunch with a friend - who pointed out that his eyes had gone yellow around the sides - he decided to contact NHS24.
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They rushed him into hospital in Glasgow where he was tested for gallbladder stones and potentially hepatitis. However, professionals could not get to the root cause of the issue.
“They could not find anything wrong with me but my liver was failing and my blood counts were all over the place”, the 24-year-old said.
“There is this chemical called bilirubin that indicates how healthy your liver is, the higher the number the more severe the liver failure, and mine were through the roof. Doctors did not know what to make of it.
“They carried out a lot of tests but decided to send me to see a liver specialist at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh. I spent about four or five weeks there getting further tests done and put on 22kg in water weight which I found out was common when your liver starts to fail.
“I was so ill and getting worse as time went on. After a while they said I needed a liver transplant and began carrying out scans to make sure I could physically cope.
“Unfortunately during this process they also found out that I had lymphoma. They carried out a biopsy to make sure that the procedure would not make the cancer go mad.”
Once Scott was cleared he was given a transplant within a week as a matter of urgency and went under the knife in June. He says that he recovered steadily but admitted that he felt terrible for the first month as he built up his strength.
But the incredible young man had to remain strong as he was booked in for another scan to explore the extent of his lymphoma. In early October he underwent a full scan to see if his cancer was localised or if it had spread.
“I went into the scan thinking that the lymphoma would be localised as doctors believed that was the most likely case. Unfortunately it showed that it was everywhere and had spread all over my body”, he added.
“It was tough going in and expecting good news and to then walk out with the knowledge that I had incurable lymphoma. The good news was that it can be treated and that it should not impact how long I live for.
“In late October they gave me my first round of chemo and I have just been on that journey since. Physically I am getting some chemo symptoms and some days I feel really sick and have been in pain with what feels like sore bones.
“I’ve also been experiencing a lot of tiredness which can make it difficult to get out of bed and I can also have difficulty concentrating or moving around. Although mentally I feel fine as I have great friends around me and speak with my family in Aviemore daily.”
When being treated, Scott was given a bed in the Teenage Cancer Trust ward at the RIE, where he was able to see the facilities on offer for young people. The inspiring young man said that he was thankful that he was not a teen when suffering from his illness and said he had sympathy for younger people fighting cancer whilst missing out on growing up.
He says that the Trust was amazing at covering all aspects impacting young cancer patients' lives by putting great support systems in place. As a result of what he saw, he has decided to organise a fundraiser to help the Trust with their amazing work.
“Since I’m bald I thought what better way to raise money than to complete a video game marathon by playing solely with bald protagonists. I’ll be playing games like Hit Man, God of War and more lighter titles like Katamari.
“As part of the live stream on Twitch, we will have a fundraiser running alongside, and will also have special guest speakers to discuss different topics like cancer care and organ transplants. I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will be a success.
“I plan on starting at 1pm on Saturday, December 3 and will try to play until 1am on the 4 but I must admit that with my condition I will just try to play for as long as I can. Hopefully people can tune in and join us.
“It would be amazing for people to watch and donate but if they can’t watch then please feel free to support anyways. I set out to raise £100 but we have already smashed that.”
You can support his GoFundMe here.
And you can stream the Twitch on Saturday from 1:00pm here.
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