Chris Kelly's Liver Transplant Journey
Donation protected
Chris was 13 years old when he was diagnosed with PSC (inflammatory liver disease).
His disease made him very sick over the last few years, but the lab numbers did not increase with his symptoms. His liver was no longer working well and he was put on the transplant list 3 years ago.
In April 2019, a blessed doctor at Nebraska Medical Center decided to fight for Chris and petitioned the board to add exemption points to his lab scores to make him eligible to meet the lab number criteria to be able to be put on the active transplant list. The board accepted the petition and Chris was put on the active list.
On Saturday, June 8th at 11:30 pm, we received the call! They had a liver for Chris! We drove to Nebraska and the transplant began about 12:30pm. The surgery went well and Chris began to recover and was doing amazingly! We were so blessed with this amazing gift and sacrifice.
Each day, his body did well but his liver lab numbers increased and the doctors decided to do a quick biopsy and surgery to try to see if they could find and fix what was wrong.
Monday morning, June 17, they told us that Chris’ new liver was not working properly. Not because of the surgery, the surgeons or Chris.. just something with the liver... so they immediately put him back on the transplant list on Status 1. They told us it could be days or weeks before they found one, but he would be priority.
Tuesday morning, June 18 at 2:30 a.m. we got the call that they had another liver for Chris! They did a second liver transplant Tuesday, June 19 at 7:10pm. The surgery went well, they believed this was a perfect liver! We were once again blessed with this amazing gift and sacrifice. Chris began recovery again! His liver numbers were doing well and he was recovering nicely.
Friday morning June 21, Chris had two seizures. He had never had seizures before and they weren’t sure why. They did several tests and thought maybe it was just a one-time thing due to his body having so much trauma with the three surgeries so quickly and the medications that were necessary.
Sunday morning June 23, he had another seizure. They found some swelling on his brain due to medications and blood pressure from the surgery. They changed some of his medications, worked to level dosages and believe that he should have no lasting issues with seizures. He will just not be able to drive for six months.
Chris has continued to recover well! His new liver is “beautiful” they keep saying! His numbers are “perfect”. And he should be able to have a full life with this new liver!
When he is released from the hospital he will need to stay in a hotel in Omaha, Nebraska for several weeks. They will do in home care with him. He will have labs, appointments, PT and OT and they will continue to help him build strength and recover.
Once released from Omaha, Chris will have labs and monitoring at home, making sure the anti-rejection medication as well as the rest of his medications are still level and moving him forward. They will also have him work on physical rehabilitation.
Chris will continue to come back to Nebraska for at least monthly visits and any additional testing they need. They will monitor him very closely for the first year! After that, Chris will have yearly visits, continual monitoring and liver care. This wonderful team will be a part of his life forever.
As you can imagine, medical expenses and daily living expenses are stacking up on the Kelly Family at a rapid pace. They are grateful and very appreciative for the generosity they have been shown to date. Many people have asked if a page like this had been set up so that additional contributions could be made. On behalf of the family, thank you in advance for your consideration!
His disease made him very sick over the last few years, but the lab numbers did not increase with his symptoms. His liver was no longer working well and he was put on the transplant list 3 years ago.
In April 2019, a blessed doctor at Nebraska Medical Center decided to fight for Chris and petitioned the board to add exemption points to his lab scores to make him eligible to meet the lab number criteria to be able to be put on the active transplant list. The board accepted the petition and Chris was put on the active list.
On Saturday, June 8th at 11:30 pm, we received the call! They had a liver for Chris! We drove to Nebraska and the transplant began about 12:30pm. The surgery went well and Chris began to recover and was doing amazingly! We were so blessed with this amazing gift and sacrifice.
Each day, his body did well but his liver lab numbers increased and the doctors decided to do a quick biopsy and surgery to try to see if they could find and fix what was wrong.
Monday morning, June 17, they told us that Chris’ new liver was not working properly. Not because of the surgery, the surgeons or Chris.. just something with the liver... so they immediately put him back on the transplant list on Status 1. They told us it could be days or weeks before they found one, but he would be priority.
Tuesday morning, June 18 at 2:30 a.m. we got the call that they had another liver for Chris! They did a second liver transplant Tuesday, June 19 at 7:10pm. The surgery went well, they believed this was a perfect liver! We were once again blessed with this amazing gift and sacrifice. Chris began recovery again! His liver numbers were doing well and he was recovering nicely.
Friday morning June 21, Chris had two seizures. He had never had seizures before and they weren’t sure why. They did several tests and thought maybe it was just a one-time thing due to his body having so much trauma with the three surgeries so quickly and the medications that were necessary.
Sunday morning June 23, he had another seizure. They found some swelling on his brain due to medications and blood pressure from the surgery. They changed some of his medications, worked to level dosages and believe that he should have no lasting issues with seizures. He will just not be able to drive for six months.
Chris has continued to recover well! His new liver is “beautiful” they keep saying! His numbers are “perfect”. And he should be able to have a full life with this new liver!
When he is released from the hospital he will need to stay in a hotel in Omaha, Nebraska for several weeks. They will do in home care with him. He will have labs, appointments, PT and OT and they will continue to help him build strength and recover.
Once released from Omaha, Chris will have labs and monitoring at home, making sure the anti-rejection medication as well as the rest of his medications are still level and moving him forward. They will also have him work on physical rehabilitation.
Chris will continue to come back to Nebraska for at least monthly visits and any additional testing they need. They will monitor him very closely for the first year! After that, Chris will have yearly visits, continual monitoring and liver care. This wonderful team will be a part of his life forever.
As you can imagine, medical expenses and daily living expenses are stacking up on the Kelly Family at a rapid pace. They are grateful and very appreciative for the generosity they have been shown to date. Many people have asked if a page like this had been set up so that additional contributions could be made. On behalf of the family, thank you in advance for your consideration!
Organizer and beneficiary
Gina Keirns
Organizer
Haysville, KS
Michelle Kelly
Beneficiary