Brian Homan

“In May of 2004, I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver. Four and a half years later, in November of 2008, after many complications and delays, I was put on the transplant list. The phone call came on Tuesday, January 13, 2009. I went into surgery at 10:00 P.M. Wednesday, January 14^th. I awoke feeling better than I had felt in years.

It is a little more than a year since my transplant. I am currently taking the treatment for Hepatitis C and doing well. 

I am grateful for the experiences I have had with the Liver Transplant Team. I feel more like they are family than a group of strangers just doing a job. Their concern for the “all-around” person attached to a diseased liver is sincere and evident. Thank you for the opportunity to share my story and perhaps inspire others to ‘Give the Gift of Life’.”

~ Brian E. Homan, Middletown

Physicians/Surgeons:

Dr. G.W. Neff
Dr. N. Kemmer
Dr. Mike Alonzo
Dr. S. Rudich
Dr. A. Tevar
Dr. D.S. Kim
Dr. Jung

Nurses:

Roseann Geisting, RN, CNS
Sally Osborne, RN
DyLinn Russell, RN
Karen Paulding, RN
Stephanie Brown, RN 

Jack Hunt had a difficult 14 years. It started in 1992 when he was diagnosed with severe heart disease and told he only had a few months to live. He persevered until his condition finally became so bad that he couldn’t leave his home. In 2005, he got a pacemaker that his body rejected. He then had six cardiac arrests in one month and was in dire need of a heart transplant. Dr. Shahab Akhtar at University Hospital was ready when Jack’s donor match was found.

Within 12 hours of the surgery Jack was sitting up having lunch. Only months removed from barely being able to walk, Jack went out and started a mini-marathon team in honor of his donor, Kyle Hunlock. Jack thanks Kyle and his family for giving him a second chance, and he thanks University Hospital for making him living proof.

Karen Wilson had never been sick a day in her life. So it was a big shock when her flu-like symptoms became so severe she had to be admitted to a hospital. Then came medication that caused her to gain 80 lbs. in three months. After months of misdiagnoses and failed cures, Karen’s brother Daryl did some research that led him to University Hospital where doctors diagnosed her with kidney failure, changed Karen’s medication and told her she needed a kidney transplant. Her body immediately responded to the new treatment and when Daryl found out that he was a perfect donor match, he only felt gratitude that he could help his little sister.

Karen was discharged three days after her transplant and has been in excellent health ever since. Daryl thanks the doctors and staff at University Hospital for making his sister living proof that giving is receiving.

When Sharon Beresh came to us for a liver transplant 15 1/2 years ago, the procedure was still quite revolutionary. In fact, hers was only the 9th transplant ever performed here. Since then, says Sharon, “I have been blessed to live a lifetime of good health and no major complications, to watch my family grow up, and to grow old (older, anyway!) with my husband Don.”

Meanwhile University Hospital has performed another 500 transplants, gaining a reputation as one of the nation’s leading transplant centers. So, while the procedure is still hardly routine, there are hundreds of people walking around today who are living proof of one hospital’s very real commitment to improving people’s lives.