UH Frontline Heroes

At University Hospitals, ‘compassion’ is a word we use often to describe what we strive for, and how we treat our patients. In fact, we’ve made it a part of our vision and values. Compassion is shown throughout our system every single day. 

But Jamie Emery, a nurse practitioner who manages a team of advanced practice providers at UH Cleveland Medical Center, recounted to me how she vividly saw that compassion in action from a different perspective, when a family friend became a UH patient.

Last spring, a childhood friend of her husband’s had been admitted to a hospital in our region that was not part of our UH system. Greg, 41, arrived at that hospital in liver and kidney failure. He was intubated and had an infection in his heart. 

The doctors determined that Greg would need a simultaneous liver kidney transplant (SLK) to survive, but the selection committee there determined he would not be considered a candidate for a near-term transplant. His family did not believe Greg had much time left. 

Greg’s father had found a hospital in New York that would consider evaluating his son for a liver transplant. He was preparing to rent a small plane to transport Greg, but because of insurance issues, the transplant was denied. 

On May 6, Greg’s family and a group of his lifelong friends gathered in honor of his birthday to ensure that he knew they were thinking about him. They decorated Greg’s golf cart with their good wishes in bright paint, took a photo and sent it to him.

But then his dad told them all, “Greg isn’t going to get a liver. He’s going to die.” He asked Jamie’s husband, Cliff, to prepare the eulogy for the funeral. 

The following week, though, they got news that seemed miraculous. Doctors recommended Greg obtain a second opinion from University Hospitals. After almost 50 days in other hospitals, Greg arrived at UH Cleveland Medical Center to see if he would qualify for a lifesaving transplant. He was malnourished and very frail. He had been repeatedly intubated and extubated, treated for multiple infections, and received blood transfusions due to gastrointestinal bleeding. 

Jamie, who visited Greg often since she works at main campus, learned that while things did not look good, he was officially referred for an urgent SLK transplant evaluation. 

At that point, a multidisciplinary team comprised of transplant hepatologists, surgeons, social workers, nephrologists, dietitians, psychiatrists and specialists in both heart failure and infectious disease met with Greg and his family to evaluate his candidacy for transplant. 

After three days, members of both liver and kidney selection committees met and determined that Greg was a good candidate for a liver/kidney transplant. The news lifted Greg’s family’s spirits and his own: He was approved.

Greg had one of the top reasons that patients in the U.S. have for needing a liver transplant – cirrhosis, which also led to his kidneys failing. The UH provider team determined Greg was indeed eligible for the transplant because he was young, because of his demonstrated commitment to a healthy lifestyle and his appreciation for the love and support of his fiancé, family and friends. 

On May 19, he was placed on the transplant list, but the family worried whether or not a liver would become available in time, as he was deteriorating fast. He could no longer speak and he didn’t even recognize Jamie anymore. 

Over the next few days, the incredibly skilled MICU team worked diligently to keep Greg in stable condition and optimized for the transplant.

Three days after he was listed, Greg and his family were notified that he was matched with a donor, and on May 23, just two weeks after thinking there was no hope, Greg received the gift of life. 

As I write this, Greg is doing well. He’s back home, has gained back 30 pounds, and is working hard at physical therapy to build up his strength after being so ill and bed-ridden for a few months. He’s still using a walker, but won’t be for long.

Greg appreciates that someone else’s organs have given him new life. He says he embraces his duty to treat his body well, making sure to take all his medication, and stay away from situations that might lead to unhealthy choices. 

Jamie gives Greg credit, too. “Five times he almost died, but he didn’t give up,” she says. “He is so grateful, and it’s not just about the transplant. “We gave him hope, and said ‘We are going to try.’” 

These are the UH caregivers who facilitated the life-saving transplant: Naemat Sandhu, MD  and Seth Sclair, MD; Dr. Zoe Stewart Lewis, MD, James A. Schulak MD, Endowed Director of the UH Transplant Institute, and Kai Zhao, MD, transplant surgeons; Yasolatha Chalicheemala, MD, nephrologist; Michael Zacharias, DO, heart failure specialist; Willem Boom, MD, infectious disease specialist; Clare Mitchell, PhD, psychologist; Kara Ponzo, RN, transplant coordinator; Gina Marie Presti, transplant social worker; Cynthia Porter, transplant financial coordinator, and Jean Tyler, liver transplant secretary. 

They and their colleagues constantly perform at peak skill under pressure. All are heroes. Greg’s family certainly thinks so. When Jamie asked them what they thought of UH, they said: “UH for life!”

It’s an incredible honor to be trusted to care for our community. And when we get to demonstrate our compassion and offer hope, our souls are ignited with renewed energy. 

I’m so very thankful to our team who saw Greg as an individual and said, “Yes, we can help.”