Shortly after I retired, my primary biliary cholangitis1 showed the first symptoms of end stage liver failure, with some damage to my kidneys, too.

I went to Cleveland Clinic to be evaluated for a liver transplant. 

“Don’t worry,” Dr. Hashimoto2 told me. “We’re going to get you a new liver.” 

“Are you going to get it from Wal-Mart?” I joked. I’d heard patients wait years for a new liver. At 65, I figured I was too old. 

But Dr. Hashimoto made good on his promise. 

As a former OR nurse myself (at a different hospital), I wasn’t afraid at all when entering the operating room. It was like being back at work. I had complete faith in Dr. Hashimoto and his team.

I’m very grateful to them for all they did for me. I also want to thank Dr. Diago Uso and Suzanne McFeaters for keeping me well and helping me prevent rejection.3 

I feel better than I have in years. Trusting Cleveland Clinic with my transplant was the best healthcare decision of my life. 

 

Cindy Schue and her husband, Dan, estimate they’ve been to Walt Disney World at least 70 times. 

Notes

  1. PBC is a disease that harms the liver’s ability to function because of damage to the bile ducts.

  2. Koji Hashimoto, MD, PhD, is Director of Living Donor Liver Transplantation and Pediatric Liver Transplantation.

  3. Surgeon Teresa Diago Uso, MD, and Transplant Coordinator Suzanne McFeaters, RN, BSN, are on the liver transplant team.