Meet These Incredible Transplant Patients

Jan 23, 2018 | Mayo Clinic Transplant Staff | @mayoclinictransplantstaff

Everybody has a story. No matter your age, what you’ve been through, or where you are today, you have a story. And it’s remarkable!

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This is especially true of people who have overcome a health crisis. Consider transplant patients. There’s a story and life before transplant, as well as after. A story about “getting the call.” There’s a story to be told around recovering from surgery, and how patients are using their gift of a second chance at life. Remarkable, right?

Today we introduce you to three incredible transplant patients, and encourage you to read and be inspired by their remarkable stories.

Meet Jennifer. A diagnosis of IgA nephropathy at age 21 left Jennifer’s kidneys functioning at only 7 percent. She was receiving dialysis for 10 hours at night and two more sessions during the day, leaving Jennifer with little time for friends or a full-time job. Due to the severity of her condition, Jennifer was added to the waiting list for a kidney transplant, and listed with two medical centers; one in Miami and one in Houston. She waited for 12 years in Miami and nine years in Houston. Then, one day, someone at Jennifer’s dialysis center approached her and suggested she contact Mayo Clinic’s Arizona campus. She did, and that’s when everything started to change. Here’s Jennifer’s full story.

Jennifer

Meet Kent. Kent’s symptoms began in January 2016. He was weak, his legs were swollen, and his blood pressure was low. By September that year, he was in liver failure and in need of a new liver, but his MELD score was not high enough to put him on top of the waiting list. As his wait for a liver transplant continued, his health got worse and Kent went into kidney failure. Then, on April 22, 2017, he got “the call.” Here’s Kent’s full story.

Kent

Meet Maksim. It was New Year’s Eve, and parents Jerimiah and Rachael were in a pediatric intensive care unit with their 4-year-old son, Maksim, who had been hospitalized for severe lethargy and dehydration caused by an E. coli infection. Even though Maksim was discharged from the hospital after a three month stay, the infection had caused kidney failure, and Maksim would need a transplant. The events leading up to his transplant were a whirlwind. Here’s Maksim’s full story.

Maksim