The 18-year-old only recalls feeling extremely tired and being in a great amount of pain as doctors at American Family Children’s Hospital tried to determine why her health had gone downhill so quickly. But she does distinctly remember feeling comforted and well taken care of.
“I was happy my parents were there,” she said. “All the pain that I went through was overshadowed by the amount of care I got from them and from the doctors and nurses.”
The high school student’s health journey began on Jan. 9, when her concerned parents made an appointment for her at a UW Health clinic to find out why she had been so lethargic. Her dad, Kevin, works for the Sub-Zero Group corporate office in Madison, which works closely with UW Health to provide health care for its staff members. Kevin had developed a relationship with nurse practitioner Kathy Rozema, MS, APNP, FNP-BC, through his own health issues, and he set up an appointment for his daughter with her.
After Kathy received the results of some blood work, she called Kevin right away, telling him to bring his daughter to the emergency room right away. “Kathy has just been so wonderful for our family,” he said. “She has saved our lives a few times over.”
Dana’s ultimate diagnosis was end-stage liver disease due to autoimmune hepatitis—a chronic liver disease that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the liver. The reality of the situation was that her liver was failing, and she would need a liver transplant. She was put on the wait list eight days after first coming to the hospital, and on Jan. 19 she went home to wait for the gift of life and try to stay well.
“We tried to make a new normal, with new meds and new restrictions,” said Dana’s mom, Mindia.
Late on Feb. 7, the Guest family received a phone call: a donor liver had become available for Dana. They rushed to the hospital, and Dana went into surgery the morning of Feb. 8. “It was like we were in a movie,” said Kevin. “I felt like this was my time to stay focused and pay close attention to everything that was going on.”
In the span of just a month, the Guests went from the terror of potentially losing their daughter, to the joy of seeing her receive the gift of life.
Dana stayed in the hospital 13 days after her transplant. During that time, she especially appreciated all the extra touches the hospital provided for her—like a staff member who brought around arts and entertainment options. She even learned how to play the ukelele.
Kevin said he was grateful for how attentive Dana’s pediatric hepatologist, Katryn Furuya, MD, was to both Dana and her family. “She just made us feel like VIPs—like Dana was the only patient there,” he said.
She is now a senior at LaFollette High School in Madison and is active in choir and other school activities. “I’m feeling so much better than I have felt in a really long time,” she said.