COVID patient's strange symptoms save her from deadly undiagnosed diseases. Here's what doctors discovered.
NEW YORK -- Vicky Dennis was hospitalized with strange symptoms after contracting COVID-19 in 2020. She described itchy skin, yellowing of her skin and dark urine.
In the hospital, doctors discovered Dennis was living with undiagnosed, life-threatening diseases: autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cholangitis.
Dennis, who was 27 years old at the time, was told she needed a liver transplant within the next five years to survive.
"You feel frozen, like you can't move forward with your life because you know the only way forward is to get this new organ," she said.
Enter Zoë Johnson, who knew Dennis for years since their partners were childhood friends.
They grew infinitely closer when Johnson found out she was a match and could donate part of her liver to save Dennis.
"I was just excited at the idea that I could help somebody. I'm very, very lucky that I've always had good health and I've always had a lot of family support," Johnson said.
Successful liver transplant in New York
Dennis and Johnson underwent operations at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in December 2023. Johnson's surgery was done robotically, a new technique to minimize the size of the incision.
"We do it minimally invasive with laparoscopic or robotic surgery. We do everything through very small incisions, but we're taking up to 70% of the liver, and that takes time to recover," said Dr. Juan Pablo Rocca, their surgeon.
During the surgery, a portion of the donor's liver is removed and placed into the recipient. Eventually, the liver regenerates inside both patients. Essentially, surgeons use one liver to create another.
The procedure has been around for decades, but is becoming more common. New York-Presbyterian Hospital said it has completed more than 500 living liver transplants. The liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself, according to medical experts.
Data from the United Network for Organ Sharing says the U.S. set a world record with more than 10,000 liver transplants performed in 2023. Six percent involved living donors.
"Any time a living donor donates a liver, there's an extra liver for someone else," said Rocca.
Recovering from surgery & raising awareness
Dennis and Johnson have used their Instagram account to share their story since the surgery. They wear matching liver shirts, dress up as a giant liver for Halloween, and make liver-shaped cakes and stuffed toys.
"Kind of amazingly, they cleared me to exercise a month and a half after the surgery. And I ran a half marathon, the New York City Half Marathon, four months after," said Johnson, an avid runner.
At her last visit, Johnson said doctors reported more than 85% of her liver had regenerated and was functioning normally again.
"To do that for someone, it can be a very scary thing. It's not an easy operation by any means. So I think it just goes to show how incredible of a person she is," said Dennis.
While the women are still on their journeys to health, they joined a sports league and are training together to run a marathon for organ donation next year.
The United Network of Organ Sharing said more than 10,000 patients are waiting for a life-saving liver transplant and there is a massive shortage of donors.
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