Donate Life Month: Jessica Escobar
After Jessica’s second pregnancy, she was diagnosed with pregnancy induced autoimmune hepatitis. It became clear she needed a liver transplant. This is her story:
April 1, 2009 was the most joyous day of my life. On this day I gave birth to my beautiful daughter. The sister my son always wanted and the joy to my already proud family. With all the emotion I also found relief, not just from birthing my second healthy child, but now doctors could examine me and see what was going on for the past seven months of pregnancy.
Three months into my pregnancy my skin and eyes became yellow and my liver enzymes numbers were elevated. Doctors were unsure why since I was a healthy 25 year old and had no complications in my previous pregnancy. All I knew was now the baby was born and healthy. Now I could be treated and get to the bottom of the illness brought on by my pregnancy.
Two weeks after the birth I had many blood tests performed and a liver biopsy. After an agonizing five day wait, the results came in. My doctor sat me down and explained I had stage 3 bridging and end stage of liver cirrhosis. They called it pregnancy induced autoimmune hepatitis. Being a nurse for the past six years, I knew this was not good and I feared for my life. I cried for days and feared my babies would grow up without their mother.
Doctors quickly put me on a strong steroid regimen and other pills to try and salvage my liver, but after three years of intense medication therapy I became extremely ill at University of Miami Hospital (UMH) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) from liver cirrhosis complications. I needed a new liver and that was the only way I would be able to leave the hospital alive.
After being in ICU for two months I received the call I was patiently waiting to receive. Finally, there was a match for me and I was going to have the liver transplant I had been dreaming and praying for. I called my family and kissed my kids as I was leaving my life in God’s hands along with the great surgeons of the University of Miami.
On February 5, after three hours of surgery, I came out of ICU with a new liver feeling beyond blessed and healthy as ever. Waking up to my babies and family was the best thing in the world.
Five days and 65 staples later I was healthy enough to go home to my family. Since then, I have lived a healthy life with no complications, I feel normal again and it has been a year and a half since my surgery.
I was able to see my daughter graduate kindergarten and my son become MVP of his basketball league. I am so blessed to be given a second chance in life. Because of my amazing selfless donor family, I am a mother to my kids, a wife to my husband, and a daughter to my mother. I can never repay my donor’s family for their amazing gift and saying yes to donation. I pray to see her one-day and be able to thank my angel up in heaven.
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