[sound of lapping waves and birds chirping]
KATHY: When it happened,
there wasn't a thing to be done about it
that I could do personally.
It wasn't something that I went looking for,
or expected.
It's an indescribable thing.
People don't make sacrifice like that for you.
It's a very powerful thing.
I met my husband at church when I was 16,
so it's 36 years now that we've been married.
Grace is our oldest, Alicia is our middle daughter,
and Sarah is the youngest.
Sarah, can I have my teacup? SARAH: Yeah.
KATHY: I've always had a condition
called fatty liver,
and that's kind of a precursor to what happened.
Around 2014 and '15, I just started being sick.
And the local doctor sent me to be evaluated at Penn,
and that's when I found out
you had cirrhosis and it was, it's a permanent condition
that does not improve.
To be told you will not recover without intervention
is a different thing that being told you have a donor
because in that middle time,
it was just a matter of waiting.
It wasn't until I read through
all the literature that Penn had given me,
that I found out about the living donor option.
A living donor liver transplantation
is a procedure where we can take
part of a healthy human liver from a donor
and provide it to a patient who needs a liver transplant.
In both the donor and the recipient,
the liver can regenerate and grow back to the size
that it needs to be.
It's a very good option.
It can improve your long-term survival.
You can get a transplant before you get too sick.
So, this is the one we're going to be on, I think.
- Which one? - With the American flag.
SARAH: When I found out that my mom didn't have to wait,
and I could help her right then,
there was no question that I would pursue
a living donor transplant.
DR. OLTHOFF: We want to make sure
that there's one team that's taking care of the donor
and whose primary responsibility is the donor
and the donor's safety;
and another team that's taking care of the recipient
and all that goes into someone who has liver failure
and liver disease.
The team approach,
where there were so many different advocates
from so many different disciplines working together
just gave me a whole lot of confidence
that this was going to come out well
and we were gonna be okay.
To be in Dr. Olthoff's hands was so reassuring.
I remember after the surgery, she came in
and she had been at the hospital all night.
She sat down on the bed,
and you know, I just wanted her to know...
the work that she does is so important;
so important.
Our patients, they become part of our family
from the moment they walk in the door.
And I hope they do feel part of the family.
It's great to see them thrive.
I mean, it's what I expect.
It's why we do what we do.
KATHY: After having the transplant,
I have a profound sense of the preciousness of life.
Had this not worked out and we didn't have the surgery,
the outcome could have been very different
and I might not have known
and watched my grandchildren grow up.
SARAH: We just built our fist boat,
last year's goal.
And there's a big launch day ceremony
and everybody puts their boat in the water
and mom was there.
It would have been a completely different day if she weren't.
Sharing things with family is really important
and that's how you get through life.
I don't have to doubt that she'll be there.
When you need your mom, you need your mom so...
You actually want me to say words?
[laughter]
SARAH: When you go through something
that is this difficult...
KATHY: Yeah, that's the day we came home.
SARAH: You want the best on your team.
And I really think that that's what Penn gives you;
the best folks in your corner.
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