Two months after recieving a liver transplant,a 17-year-old Huntington boy's wish came true in Lindon on Wednesday, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah and Alpine Powersports, who combined to give the boy a new all-terain vehicle.

Ryan Thompson received his four-wheeler of choice, a 2008 Outlander Max 800 Limited XT, decorated with congratulatory balloons, in front of family and well-wishers at Alpine Powersports. An ATV was his wish because he grew up riding them and his family had to sell their three ATVs to help pay his medical bills.

Thompson has had a long haul just to get to the point where he is healthy enough to ride an ATV. Although his liver transplant was performed in July at the University of Utah hospital, Thompson's struggles date back several years. In 2004, he became ill and struggled to breathe. He had acquired a strange combination of life-threatening symptoms, the cause of which was so rare, doctors initially diagnosed him with stomach problems. Eventually, they learned that Thompson lungs were being infested by fatty nodules, or polyps, that had made breathing difficult. Additionally, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis -- a form of inflammatory bowel disease -- and primary sclerosing cholangitis, a disease that attacks the liver's bile ducts, Thompson said.

Thompson's unusual combination of maladies -- whose cause was unknown to doctors, according to the boy -- had only been reported in one other person in the United States, he said. Thompson said he is the second person in the nation under the age of 18 to develop cholangiocarcinoma, a bile duct cancer, and the first to go through protocol -- a two-month-long set of treatments -- for the disease. The treatments set Thompson up to receive a liver transplant, said his father, Tim Thompson.

The donor, a 46-year-old man from Louisiana who had been vacationing in Wyoming, had been declared brain dead and unable to recover from a vegetative state when his family gave permission for the liver to be donated, Tim Thompson said. The man had previously chosen to be an organ donor.

Yolanda Thompson, the boy's mother, said she was astounded by how closely the organ matched that of her son.

"The liver was a 97 percent match," she said. "And it's never a 100 percent match; they said 60-70 percent is usually good."

The quality of the liver donation was helped by the fact that the man did not drink or smoke, the boy's mother said.

The Thompsons and the donor's family met during the operation and still keep in touch through e-mail, Tim Thompson said

"It was a miracle," he said. "The family of the donor also said it was a miracle [that they could help someone in need]."

Doctors detected Thompson's cancer early enough to prevent it from spreading, his father said.

The cancer was the same type found in actor Michael Landon, said the boy's brother, Tyler Thompson. Landon was diagnosed while the disease was in its fourth stage, and only lived for another two months, Tyler Thompson said. Because Thompson was diagnosed in the first stage, he is expected to live a long life, his father said, adding that doctors gave a 25 percent chance that the PSC would return.

Yolanda Thompson said she appreciated the work performed by doctors at the university and at Primary Children's Medical Center, regardless of the ensuing cost.

"You can worry about the money later; they needed to save his life," she said. "[Ryan] has beaten a lot of odds."

For now, Thompson said he is not 100 percent healthy, but will be able to ride his four-wheeler.

In about one month, he will be cleared to do more strenuous exercise, he said.

Thompson's specificity in his choice of ATV was unusual, said Frank Nilson, director of program services for the Utah chapter of Make-A-Wish. Most boys requesting a similar item wouldn't have a clue to the name of the specific model, he said.

The Outlander model Thompson received is considered the top of the line, said Alpine Powersports employee Dan Call, whose company provided a discount to Make-A-Wish.

Platinum Protection, a Provo-based home alarm company, has raised about $22,500 for the Ryan Thompson Liver Fund, company spokesman Jake Nielson said. The company continues to encourage individuals and companies to contribute to the fund, he said.

Donations to the Ryan Thompson Liver Fund can be made at helpryannow.com or at Wells Fargo Bank.

• Sam Scorup can be reached at 344-2561 or sscorup@heraldextra.com.