Testimonals
“I would do it all over again”
Jeff Received a bilateral lung transplant in December 2001. Prior to his transplant he was on oxygen and weighed 100 pounds as a 30 year old adult and would get out of breath chewing food and tying his shoes. Seven years later, "I weigh 140 pounds, work full time, I play golf and swim, I attend a Pilates class three time per week and I feel terrific!" Jeff states " the team and University (from the surgeons to the post-transplant doctors to the nursing staff) have not only given me outstanding care (and saved my life) they have become very good friends.
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“Transplantation is his life. Literally.”
Organ procurement coordinator Rod Davis has been with the UHS transplant team since 1988. He knew his liver enzymes were a little high, but he never thought he'd ever be in need of his own services. “It finally caught up with me I guess,” says Rod. He was transplanted on April 1, 1997. In some ways his job experience made the ordeal easier. “I knew what to expect.” But it also made it more difficult because he knew “what to expect” and he knew it was going to be a long hard road. “It’s made me appreciate the important things a lot more,” he adds. It’s also helped at work. “I can help people understand they can get through this. They are going to be OK.”
“Happy Birthday to me.”
Joanne Jackson can finally have her cake and eat it too. Refusing to give up hope after a failed kidney transplant a few years ago, Joanne found out on February 7, 2003, her birthday, that there was a kidney match. “It was the best birthday gift I ever received,” smiles Joanne. Now off of dialysis, Joanne will not only be able to celebrate her many birthdays to come, but her three-year old grandson’s as well. She has also undergone a successful pancreas transplant as well.
“Just get me to the church on time.”
Jaymee Robinson received her liver transplant in the summer of 2001, just four days before her sister's wedding. “They called and said, ‘Hey you've got a liver, come and get it,’” says Jaymee with a smile. No one thought she'd be well enough to go to the wedding, let alone serve as Maid of Honor, but she was there. The bridal party took a group photo wearing surgical masks. Jaymee, who first got sick in the 4th grade, is now in college. She wants to be a Physician's Assistant.
“Not one, but two angels.”
Alyza Briseno needed a liver transplant soon after her birth. Just nine months later, little Alyza received her gift of life in an unusually beautiful way. An adult donor recipient had been notified of a matching liver and was gearing up for transplantation. It was soon discovered, however, that little Alyza was a match for the same liver. They received their new gifts of life side by side with a split liver transplant. Alyza’s mom says she has not one but two angels watching over her—one who celebrated death by breathing life into others and one who shares that breath of life through the miracle of a split liver transplant.
“From a nightmare to a dream come true.”
With an eight percent damaged liver and no hope of reaching her one-month birthday, Elizabeth Melendez’s chances were quickly dwindling, until University Health System’s Transplant Team stepped in. Now three years later, Elizabeth is a healthy, happy little girl who loves the outdoors. Although Elizabeth won’t remember the experience, it’s one her family will never forget. “It’s as if it never happened, it was like a bad nightmare that we finally woke up from,” says Gina Melendez, Elizabeth’s mother. “Without our transplant coordinator I don’t know what we would have done,” she adds, “I have one thing to say to her: Don’t ever quit!”
