Liver transplant a lifesaving surprise for Vasichek

Julianne Vasichek never expected to have a new liver, not at this point, anyway.

The 32-year-old former college hockey player and now strength and conditioning coach/equipment manager with the University of Minnesota, Duluth women's hockey team wasn't even on a transplant list. That was years away, she thought.

Having been diagnosed in 2008 with a rare liver disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis, which causes damage and eventual loss of function of the liver's bile ducts, Vasichek managed the disease as best she could, mostly with lifestyle changes.

There is no specific treatment and no cure for PSC.

That all changed over the weekend of Feb. 21, ironic, perhaps, as the Bulldogs hockey team had just played a game on Feb. 20 to raise awareness for PSC and organ donation.

Her parents, Lola and Daryl Vasichek, had come to Minnesota from Great Falls to visit her and watch hockey.

But Vasichek hadn't been feeling well. A colongitis attack was suspected, so her doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., put her on antibiotics. By Sunday, Feb. 22, she was in so much abdominal pain that her father took her to the emergency room in Duluth.

By Monday, Vasichek, a 2001 graduate of C.M. Russell High School, had been admitted to the hospital in Duluth.

"To be honest, most of Feb. 23 to March 5 I don't remember," she said.

Throughout the week of Feb. 23, Vasichek's condition declined. Doctors performed a procedure to clean out and place a stent in her bile ducts. By Tuesday, her breathing became shallow and she was put on a respirator.

On Wednesday, Vasichek was transferred 200 miles to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Even the air transport was difficult, and Vasichek's liver and kidneys were shutting down. Normally 165 pounds, she weighed closer to 195 pounds upon admission to Mayo as her body retained fluid.

Lola and Daryl Vasichek came to Rochester on Thursday, and by Friday, a liver had been found.

For Julianne's parents, the situation was something of a shock.

"She got sick so fast," Lola Vasichek said.

But Lola added: "Daryl and I both, we had this feeling that everything was going to be OK … When the kids were little and were baptized, I turned them over to God, and I always had the feeling that they were God's children and they were on loan to us. But I expected to have Julianne around for many years, so I'm not saying I was ready to give her up by any means."

The Vasicheks also had absolute trust in the staff at Mayo.

"She was just in the best place possible and in God's care," Lola Vasichek continued.

Julianne underwent the transplant on Saturday. During the 10-hour procedure, the UMD Bulldogs took to the ice in their second game of their first playoff series. Having lost the night before to Bemidji State, the Bulldogs came back Saturday to win 2-0.

During the transplant, doctors discovered Vasichek had another rare liver disease, Budd-Chiari syndrome, which causes a blockage in the hepatic vein that takes blood away from the liver.

"They said it was like a one-in-a-billion combination," Vasichek said.

Only about 20 percent of her liver was still viable at the time of the transplant.

Doctors also discovered about 40 percent of Vasichek's colon was "basically dying or dead," she said.

The dead, or black, portion of the colon was removed. Vasichek is now temporarily living with an ostomy bag until her doctors can reattach the rest of her colon to her intestine.

Not until Thursday, March 5, did Vasichek wake from a coma and find out she had a new liver.

She stayed at Mayo for almost another month, until she was discharged March 29.

For now, Vasichek is free of PSC, but the disease recurs in about 25 percent of patients who undergo a liver transplant. She's living in the Gift of Life Transplant House in Rochester, where her parents are still helping her recover.

But Lola Vasichek, a retired nurse, said her daughter doesn't need much caregiving.

"I'm supposed to be the caregiver, but she's the caregiver. I'm just along for the ride," Lola said.

Lola says her daughter is incredibly upbeat, positive and organized, managing a slew of medications with no problems. The work ethic she developed during her childhood participation in sports and later in college hockey helps her, too.

"She was very goal-oriented as a young person, from the time she was little in grade school, all the way through school. She's an achiever and a team player," Lola Vasichek said.

Julianne is currently dealing her body's rejection of the new liver. But her doctors are confident that with some different treatment strategies, the rejection will end. After that, doctors will begin thinking about reconnecting her colon.

"The minimum is a month," she said of the stay at the Gift of Life house. "I'm just going day by day, but I would expect to be here through April."

Recovery is arduous at times. After a month in the hospital, she was discharged weighing 135 pounds.

"It's amazing that it takes 100 percent focus and effort for me to eat a yogurt," she tweeted earlier this week.

Vasichek has shared her story of PSC before, using it raise money for a nonprofit called PSC Partners Seeking a Cure. She began a virtual fundraiser in February before her last illness. The original goal for the fundraiser was $2,500. It has raised mor than $4,300.

News of her illness and transplant has helped that one, she said.

Friends also are working on fundraisers to help offset medical costs. While Vasicheck has insurance, she will still have copays and other expenses related to her care.

Vasichek is an optimist, and she's grateful for her team, her colleagues, family and friends, and the donor whose liver she has.

Her parting thoughts?

"I really want to thank everybody in the community who's been supportive and sending messages on CaringBridge and Twitter," she said. "Every one of those messages is important to me and kind of helps me take those small steps forward."

Want to help?

An account has been set up for Julianne Vasichek's medical expenses at the Park State Bank in Duluth, Minn.

The bank can be reached by calling 218-722-3500. Vasichek posts to a CaringBridge site to update friends and family of her progress at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/juliannevasichek.