Son of Buffalo Bills’ Karlos Williams Battles Hirschprung’s Disease

SOURCE – When it rains, it seems to pour for former Buffalo Bills running back Karlos Williams, Sr. After being jettisoned by Buffalo for being too heavy and out of shape before the 2016 season by then-coach Rex Ryan, Williams was picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers and placed on their practice squad.

However, that gig didn’t last long. Williams was suspended for 10 games by the NFL for violating the substance abuse policy, his second suspension during the same season. But now Williams faces an even more dire battle after his infant son Kason was recently diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease, a rare condition that affects the colon.

According to Stanford Children’s Health, Hirschsprung’s disease is a congenital condition where the colon lacks nerve cells necessary to propel food through the colon.

“In children with Hirschsprung’s disease, a lack of nerve cells in part of the intestine interrupts the signal from the brain and prevents peristalsis in that segment of the intestine. Because stool cannot move forward normally, the intestine can become partially or completely obstructed (blocked), and begins to expand to a larger than normal size.”
Hirschsprung’s disease occurs in one out of every 5,000 births and can be corrected by surgery. The Tallahassee Democrat’s Nada Hassanein reported that Kason has already undergone his first operation to fix the disorder.

“It’s been tough being the parent — a young parent, at that … it’s kind of tough watching your baby struggle to do simple things such as going to the bathroom,” Karlos Williams said.

Sometimes the corrective surgery can be done all at once, but in this case doctors opted to split the surgery into two procedures to avoid complications. Kason will have a second surgery soon to remove the part of his colon that’s no longer functional.