Jeanne has worked in healthcare most of her life. But in 2024, she found herself on the other side of the bed as a patient in desperate need of a liver transplant.
Jeanne was only 15 when she decided that helping others would be her life’s work. She became a nurse when she was 20 and worked in that field, eventually earning her doctoral degree in nursing in 2023.
Jeanne always considered herself to be a healthy person. She and her family were active – camping, kayaking, and gardening. She doesn’t smoke or drink and has never used drugs. But the years of activity did wear down her knee, and in August 2023, she was facing a knee replacement. That’s when Jeanne learned that something deeper was wrong. As pre-operative bloodwork results returned, doctors were concerned with her low blood levels and anemia. They called for further testing, and the results soon showed that Jeanne had Nonalcoholic Cirrhosis of the Liver. It was advanced. Liver transplant was going to be necessary. Jeanne says, “It totally turned our world upside down.”
In February 2024, Jeanne was added to the transplant waiting list. That same month, she had a severe health scare. Her daughter, who is also a nurse, found Jeanne unresponsive in her chair. After a call to 911, an ambulance ride to the hospital, and 48 hours that she doesn’t recall, Jeanne learned that she’d had an episode of Hepatic Encephalopathy. There had been no warning, and now, this lifelong caretaker of others couldn’t do anything to take care of herself. It was a humbling experience that meant a two-and-a-half week stay in the hospital and then another week of recovery at home. Jeanne returned to work, but it wasn’t easy, and looking back, she doesn’t know how she managed it.
After eight months of waiting, the call came from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) – they had a liver for Jeanne. Jeanne received her instructions from the transplant center, made her plans to get to the hospital, and then called a group of supporters who was praying for her. She updated them and asked them to pray for her donor, donor family, and transplant teams. Then, on Friday, October 4, 2024, Jeanne received a liver transplant from a generous donor.
Within days of her transplant, Jeanne was breathing better, walking better, and feeling better. She was shocked that there was very little pain after surgery – a few days of Tylenol was really all she needed. Doctors have been amazed at her smooth recovery. Her anemia is gone, and she describes her energy level as “phenomenal.”
As Jeanne returns to her normal, healthy, active life, working and spending time with her family, she remembers and thanks God for her donor and their family constantly. Jeanne says, “My transplant has been the most humbling and gratitude-filled journey. I am grateful for this gift. I will continue to serve and remember my donor and their family. I am committed to becoming an even better person because of this gift.”
