But during an after-work hike around the park one day during the summer of 2022, Damon had difficulties making it all the way around the lake.
“When I got back to my car, my eyes were completely yellow,” he said. “I was very fatigued.”
This wasn’t the first time Damon had experienced extreme tiredness and jaundice. Back in 2019, he had seen several specialists for what he thought was gallstones, and he even underwent surgery to have his gallbladder removed. Doctors found no evidence of gallstones, however, and his jaundice went away before they could determine the cause.
When Damon sought treatment in 2022, he learned he had cirrhosis of the liver due to an autoimmune disease. Doctors wanted to put him on the wait list for a liver transplant, but shortly after he started undergoing testing, his health became much better and he no longer qualified.
“I was probably better for about a year,” he said. “Then, I started getting sick again around June 2024. I was experiencing swelling in my legs and really bad water weight, and the fatigue was back. I was sleeping a lot. I went to the doctor, and they said things aren’t looking good.”
In August 2024, Damon’s doctors sent him to the UW Health Transplant Center to start receiving treatment for advanced liver disease. Then, on Sept. 12, he was admitted to University Hospital in Madison for multiple symptoms—he could barely walk, his skin was yellow and he was throwing up.
While he was in the hospital, he said, a nurse came into his room and saw that he was crashing because of an extremely low glucose level. The nurse called for assistance, and doctors rushed him to the intensive care unit and stabilized him. “That nurse saved me,” he said. “Her quick action and quick thinking saved my life.”
“If I didn’t get the transplant, I wouldn’t be alive,” he said. “I was in so much pain every night I went to bed. I almost felt like I didn’t even want to wake up in the morning, because I knew what the next day was going to bring.”
On Sept. 25, Damon received his gift of life at University Hospital.
Damon said he received top-notch care at University Hospital. “The team treated me so well,” he said.
By February 2025, Damon was back to work as a park ranger. “It’s been really good, but it’s been slow,” he said. “My stamina is not where it once was, and I’m not as strong. But every week is getting better. I feel more comfortable doing tasks I have to do. I’m so thankful for my donor, the nurse who saved me, the doctors and care team who treated me and the support I received from my family and friends.”