Local high school student back home after liver transplant
Jean Jadhon WDBJ-TV Anchor/Reporter WDBJ7

2:23 p.m. CST, January 5, 2012


A local high school student is back home after months at Pittsburgh Children's Hospital.
Lindsey Nanz is a sophomore at Hidden Valley High School who had a liver transplant October 25th.  

Nanz suffered from a condition which causes inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts.  There is no cure so she needed a transplant, according to her mother Sharon Nanz.

Now after months of treatment her mom tells News 7 that Lindsey is back home in Southwest Roanoke County. She will undergo lab work here in the weeks and months ahead and information will be relayed back to her doctors in Pittsburgh, Sharon Nanz said.

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Sharon Nanz knows the first few months after the transplant can be a roller coaster.  Lindsey will be heading back to Pittsburgh next month for a followup appointment.

Here are some an excerpts from Lindsey about her experience. (One thing to note: Lindsey named her old liver Oliver and her new liver Olivia.)

"I am so happy to be back in Roanoke where I can sleep in my own bed and not be awakened by busy streets below my bedroom window. I can’t wait to see all of my friends and start the New Year with Olivia. 

The most eye-opening experience for me was getting to meet my old liver. I had known I was sick and getting worse (made evident to me by my life-threatening emergency on the band trip), but I still didn’t understand why I even needed a transplant. I felt healthy and energetic most of the time. When I saw Oliver in the basement of the hospital I couldn’t believe I had been that sick. I’m really grateful that my Roanoke doctors recognized that I needed to go to Pittsburgh, and that my Pittsburgh doctors recognized I needed a liver even though I was fairly low on the organ waiting list.

The best part about Children’s Hospital was the people. I loved all the nurses and staff at CHP. They ensured that I was the most spoiled teenage girl there. All the transplant surgeons are friendly and they worked really hard to get me well again. My main surgeon, Dr. Kyle, made sure I never got bored. He would come into my room, steal my wheelchair, and argue with me about whose shoes are cooler (my pink sparkly Converse shoes are obviously better than his old blue ones that peek out from under his scrubs). I also really enjoyed getting to meet my donor, Rachel. We had many meals with her family and even spent one day at the zoo together. Rachel is extremely sweet and I miss her already.

 

I did make it through my two months in Pittsburgh. This was in large part due to all of the support from everyone back home. Thank you so much for all the love and hope you sent to me. I was excited to get packages and letters in the mail just about every day. Hidden Valley High School sent me hundreds of decorations and gifts and cards. I’ve received postcards galore from my favorite Covenant Presbyterian Church. I even got emails of well wishes and YouTube videos to brighten my day. Thanks again to everyone for supporting me and for simply being interested in hearing my story.

Lindsey Nanz, Hidden Valley High School Sophomore.