GASTONIA, N.C. — After waiting on the transplant list for 444 days, Gastonia mother Sarah Granados finally got the call she had been praying for: she would be receiving a rare multi-organ transplant.
It's a procedure doctors say happens less than 100 times a year and Granados was one of the lucky few.
“I’m here, I’m alive, and by all measures it was successful," Granados said.
The multi-organ transplant provided her a new stomach, pancreas, small and large intestine. But for a successful procedure like this, doctors say it all comes down to ideal timing and technique to remove all the organs at once then transplant them together.
“So it had to be really the perfect donor and a good size match, blood type match and tissue match to do this transplant," Indiana University Health transplant surgeon Dr. Richard Mangus said.
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Following the transplant comes the recovery that now involves weekly check-ins at Indiana University Health where Granados received her new organs. Doctors there continue to monitor her vitals and progress to see when it may be safe for her to finally return home to be with her family in North Carolina.
Meanwhile, her recovery hasn't always been easy, with a few complications early on once some of the organs were rejecting. Yet still, Granados says she's thankful for the other wins.
“When I walked out the hospital door and I was breathing fresh air for the first time I just remember thinking, 'Oh my gosh, I was literally given life,'" Granados said.
She was also given the chance to eat and drink on her own for the first time in nearly 10 years in addition to cherishing more family time.
“It’s not just about giving me life, it’s about giving my family a mom and a wife and so much more to it than checking a box on a driver’s license -- it’s everything," Granados said.