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A Luverne woman and her family are sporting new tattoos to raise awareness of a rare liver disease.
Colette Worshek learned in January that she has autoimmune hepatitis, and she discovered there are few resources and only sparse information about the disease.
“It’s crazy how many women could be affected by this and not even know,” said Worshek, a 1994 Luverne High School graduate.
“There are really no resources around here to educate people and I want to do that.”
In an effort to draw awareness to the problem, Worshek and her husband, Bobby Worshek, and mother, Cindy Boll, had green ribbons tattooed on their skin.
Their hope is that the visible tattoos start conversations and provide opportunities to talk about the disease.
Worshek, who has two sons, ages 6 and 4, had to quit working at her job at the Bluestem in January due to her illness.
A fundraising account has been set up for Worshek at Minnwest Bank Luverne in her name to help defray medical costs associated with treating the disease.
Autoimmune hepatitis is a disorder affecting women in which the immune system attacks the liver. More information is available at www.liverfoundation.org.
