FORKS — Fritz and Teri Fletcher’s 10-year-old son, Austin, needs a liver transplant — and soon.

That was the news the Forks-based Fletcher family received recently from doctors at Seattle’s Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, where their eldest son was diagnosed with the life-threatening affliction, cirrhosis of the liver.

Doctors told the family in October that Austin’s ailment is caused by a rare and serious hereditary disorder, Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, which leads to liver disease in many children and causes emphysema in adults.

“It was kind of a shocker,” said Teri Fletcher.

“I never expected anything like this.

“To find out that what he had was genetic, my first thought was that I did that to him.”

Austin is days away from being placed on a waiting list for a liver transplant, according to his mother.

After that it should take three to six months to find a matching donor.

Staying strong

Teri Fletcher, who drives her sons to and from Dry Creek Elementary School in Port Angeles on weekdays, said it hasn’t been easy dealing with Austin’s illness.

“It is kind of overwhelming to go from what you think is a healthy child to him needing a transplant,” she said.

Despite the trauma, Austin’s positive attitude has set the tone for her family, she said.

“After one examination, the doctor asked him if he had any questions, and Austin answered: ‘All I know is I’m getting a new liver. I want to go eat lunch now,”‘ his mother recalled.

“So I know I can’t break down — I have to be strong for him.”