Megan Axlund, Transplant Recipient

“Oh, something like this would never happen to me.”...

Back in September 2022, I was lucky enough to receive a second chance at life through the gift of a liver transplant at 25! Back then, it was a very scary time for myself, my family, friends and my future husband who stayed by my side through thick and thin. At first, I thought I had a bad case of food poisoning and could just wait it out. As a few days went by, I continued to get sicker until I noticed my skin and eyes were turning yellow and it was time to go to the emergency room. The first hospital I went to in Northern Arizona did not know what the root cause of the jaundice was, so after another few days in that hospital, it was determined that I would need a liver transplant.

At the time my parents had just learned that information, I took a turn for the worse. It suddenly became very hard and painful to breathe, so I was intubated for safety and the preparation for transportation to St. Joseph’s Medical Hospital for a transplant began. My memories from that point on are very fuzzy, but I remember all the amazing nurses and doctors who had fought to keep me alive, gave my family and loved ones hope and how they never stopped fighting to figure out what was happening to my body. After some time, it was determined that Wilson’s disease is what caused the acute liver failure and the immediate need to receive a new liver.  

Organ donation had never been something my family or myself had quite frankly thought about because you end up thinking, “oh, something like this would never happen to me.” Now, after going through the process of organ donation and seeing how truly incredible an organization like Donate Life is, I wish that people could see how important and life changing organ donation is, whether that be through tissue donation, or signing up to become an organ donor.

You, in some way or another, become the true life saver to someone else, so they have a second chance at an amazing life!