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MOTHER, DAUGHTER CELEBRATE SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY
Thursday, May 5th, 2011 -- 2:23 pm
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
This Mother’s Day will be especially poignant for two women from Neillsville.
10 years ago Wednesday, Mary Jane Mabie and her daughter, Heather Murphy, became even more connected.
A medication had destroyed Mary Jane’s liver. Doctors said she only had a few months to live. She was put on a waiting list for a transplant, but it was clear she wouldn’t get the needed organ in time.
"There were 2,614 people on that list (ahead of me). I didn't have enough time," Mary Jane remembers. "So this option of live liver transplant came up."
In a live liver transplant, a healthy person donates 60% of their liver to the patient. The liver is the only human organ that regenerates, so the donor’s organ quickly grows back.
At the time, this procedure was brand new; in fact, Mary Jane became only the second person in Wisconsin to undergo the operation.
But, first she needed to find a willing donor. That’s where Heather comes in to the story.
"We went, 'OK, when?,' Murphy recalls.
"She said, 'I'd give you my heart if I could," Mary Jane says.
The procedure wasn’t without risk: 17% of recipients die during the procedure; 11% of live donors don’t make it.
"What if she would have died and I would have lived. That wouldn't have worked," Mary Jane sighs.
While there were some tough times, especially as her condition worsened before the transplant, the procedure was an amazing success. Both Mary Jane and Heather are doing great, and thankful for the doctors that made the swap possible.
"Look at it. It's so worth it. I got to be Heather's Maid of Honor. I got to see two grandchildren born."
"And let me tell you: you don't take life for granted."
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