MONTEZUMA, Iowa (KCRG) - A historic moment for modern medicine means one Iowa mom and business owner is breathing much easier.
Elizabeth Wehrle of Montezuma is the first known person to undergo a quadruple organ transplant with re-transplanted lungs according to Northwestern Medicine and the .
Wehrle spent about four months in Chicago following the intensive transplant surgery, which took place overnight March 22-23.
Last week, she was able to return home.
On Tuesday, Wehrle went fishing with her boyfriend Eric Dickenson and took her son Landen to piano lessons. It was a normal summer day - one that didn’t feel guaranteed when she was extremely ill earlier this year.
Wehrle has lived with cystic fibrosis for much of her 36 years - having been diagnosed at age 11. She received lung transplants in 2017 after she experienced the birth of her son and a health decline.
This January, she had to go to the emergency room - where she was told she had pneumonia. Her pulmonary function results had plummeted, and the University of Iowa Hospital team performed an exploratory bronchoscopy and tried various antibiotics.
“Having the ‘we don’t really know what is happening’ answer is a little bit frustrating and unnerving when you’ve gone through all of this,” she said. “It’s like ‘I’ve been through it once. I’ll never have to do it again.’“
Over a period of three weeks at home, she lost thirty pounds and struggled with anxiety and shortness of breath.
Then, at a follow-up appointment, her results showed a rare, chronic rejection of the lungs. She was admitted to the hospital in late February and later became unresponsive during an antibody treatment.
“There were about four or five different IV medications running into you. It was a scary sight,” said Dickenson.
In March, hooked up to an ECMO machine, Wehrle traveled by plane to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
She underwent exploratory surgery to determine if her lungs could be removed with the amount of scarring from her previous surgery.
“The hard part was if they could not be removed, they were not going to wake me back up,” she said. “That was really hard. My parents were with me... but my son was not. That was a very hard thing to process.”
Thankfully, the doctors determined a transplant was possible.
Once donor organs were available, overnight, Wehrle received new lungs, a liver and kidney.
Wehrle and her medical team made history - and she could breathe again.
“Once I was conscious enough to realize everything, the tightness of my chest was gone,” she said. “It was just nice to be able to breathe without worrying about anything.”
Through about four months of follow-ups and therapy - moving from the ICU to the general floor to a rehabilitation center and then to a hotel - her father encouraging her all the way.
“He kept saying, ‘every step here is a closer step home.’” said Wehrle. “The routine got to be very boring, but that routine got me home.“
Now, in her first few days back in Montezuma since February, gratitude is top of mind - gratitude for her medical teams in Iowa and Illinois as well as for those who made a selfless choice.
“[Organ donation] doesn’t just save lives, it gives people a future that they wouldn’t have had already,” she said, expressing gratitude for her first lung transplant donor and their family as well. “I’ve had six organs that were not mine and I would not be here without those.“
Now, living that future, Wehrle is planning quality family time and trips to the pool with her son and boyfriend for the rest of summer.
A benefit to assist with medical expenses is taking place Saturday, July 25. You can find more information about the event, which will include live music and a silent auction, at this link.
According to the Iowa Donor Network, on Tuesday, July 21, 616 Iowans were in need of an organ transplant. You can find more information about organ and tissue donation at this link.