Guinness Brown wasn't even 50 days old and his life was in peril.

His liver was clogged with bile. His stomach distended.

Brown was born with an extremely rare liver disease called biliary atresia. The ducts that were supposed to carry bile from his liver to his gallbladder were underdeveloped.

The backed-up bile damaged his liver. A transplant is the only cure for the condition that affects only 500 infants each year.

Not long after Brown turned 4, he finally received a new liver at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh.

The organ came from a toddler in Michigan who had died.

Brown, who will be a senior at Butler High School next fall and who assaulted the track and field record books at the school this spring, has very few details about the Michigan family that saved his life.

He wants to find out.

“They don't tell you much about where (the liver) came from,” Brown said. “They tell you very, very little. Now that I'm 18, I can contact the family through Children's Hospital.”

Brown pondered that heavy decision, going back and forth on whether he wanted to reach out or not.

But after breaking long-standing Butler records in the 100, 200 and 400 this season — marks set long before he was even born — Brown wanted to express his gratitude.

“I think I'm going to contact them,” Brown said, “just to let them know what a true blessing they gave to me.”

Because of his experience, Brown has savored every success.

In addition to setting school records in three events this spring, he also put his name atop the 200-meter dash on the Butler Eagle's all-time honor roll. He supplanted Union's Bob Butler, who had held the top spot since 1967.

Brown's time this season in the 200 was a scintillating 21.42 seconds.

“It's a little surreal,” Brown said of surpassing a time in the 200 set 54 years ago. “It feels really good, though, just to know my hard work is really paying off.”

Brown had a solid freshman season on the track at Butler, but lost his sophomore year to the COVID-19 shutdown.

He was poised to have a big sophomore campaign.

“That's what the coaches kept telling me. I was like, 'Thanks for telling me that,'” Brown said, laughing. “'I don't want to keep hearing that.'”

Brown didn't waste that downtime.

Brown rarely is one to squander opportunities.

“Through COVID and all the shutdowns, I just kept working,” Brown said. “I kept training. So it feels really good knowing it is paying off.”

Brown also ranked second all-time in the 100 at 10.54 behind Mars' Brad Mueller and second in the 400 at 48.58 behind Seneca Valley's Oliver Philogene.

He has a shot at ending up No. 1 in both of those events, too.

“My big goal is to get sub-48 (in the 400),” Brown said. “I think that's definitely my No. 1 goal. I want to get into the low 21s in the 200. Really, I just want to keep getting better.”

To do that Brown intends on shaving precious time off his starts and getting stronger in the weight room.

“The blocks probably aren't my strongest suit,” Brown said. “I've been practicing it and it's definitely getting better. There's room for improvement.

“I lift a little, but definitely not enough,” Brown said, chuckling. “This summer, though, is when I'm definitely going to start getting in the weight room a lot more, building up my body.”

Brown wants to run in college. Where that will be depends on what school fits his career path.

Brown wants to be a physician's assistant “when I grow up,” he said, chuckling again.

He has lots of options going forward and is grateful he has a chance to chase those dreams after his perilous beginning to life.

His parents named him after the Guinness beer.

That paradox is not lost on him; because of his liver transplant, he can never drink alcohol.

“It's very ironic, that's for sure,” Brown said. “I'm pretty lucky. I'm just on some medication and I get blood work done once a month. I've been doing that since I was probably 2, so I'm used to that. I'm healthy and I feel fine.”