Vanessa Zamores smiles a lot because she is home for the holidays and is ready to sound the new year.
Zamores, 31, a Redlands native who worked as a professor in Japan, was rushed home to receive a life-saving liver transplant at Loma Linda University Medical Center, just seven days after he died. been included in the list of transplants. After a few weeks of intensive care and diligent rehabilitation, Zamores was discharged at home.
“It feels great to spend time with my family,” Zamores says. “I loved living in Japan, but there are so many things I lost in six years.”
Six years ago, Zamores left Redlands to become an English teacher in Japan after graduating from the University of California, Riverside. Her passion for culture and desire to continue learning the language led her to her new home.
He says he walked two miles to work every day to enjoy the scenery and clear his head. It was not until an October day that same walk made him tired.
In late October, her roommate mentioned that she was starting to look yellow. That was when Zamores went to the emergency room. The news he heard below was shocking: he had jaundice.
“He was incredulous,” Zamores says. “The medical team told me that my only option for living was to return to America to have a liver transplant because the transplant program in Japan was not that broad and it could take years to find a donor.”
His medical team in Japan immediately contacted his parents to let him know he would have to return home to receive care. Both his medical team and his family agreed that they should take him to the Loma Linda University Transplant Institute to receive care because of his worldwide reputation.
Her family coordinated with the Japan team to bring her home. Due to the critical nature of her condition, along with her inability to care for herself, the team offered to fly with her commercially. They helped run the medical team that would keep it stable.
On November 9, she was transferred to Loma Linda University Medical Center. Ten days later, she was included in the list of transplant organ donations. In just seven days, he received a liver transplant.
Charles Bratton, MD, Zamores transplant surgeon at Loma Linda University Transplant Institute, says he is grateful that he and his team were able to reunite a family in time for the holidays.
“Vanessa has recovered well and can now leave the transplant behind and wait for her future,” Bratton says. “I am grateful that our transplant team has a good knowledge of expert care and has the compassion to fight for every patient we come in contact with. That’s why the team was able to orchestrate what may seem like a impossible feat “.
Erin Wells, clinical director of hepatology and liver transplant at Loma Linda University Transplant Institute and her team, orchestrated communication with Zamores medical team in Japan to save her life. Wells says the team has worked diligently through time, language and medical barriers to get Zamores the best care as quickly and safely as possible.
“Our team recognizes and honors the fact that to save a life a family has to make an altruistic and difficult decision to donate the organs of their loved one,” says Wells. “This fact reinforces our commitment to do everything in our power to give every patient who walks through our doors the best opportunity.”
After the transplant, Zamores was in rehab for several weeks on the east campus of Loma Linda University Medical Center because he had muscle atrophy while in bed for six weeks. Doctors predicted he would return home on Dec. 27 if he had enough strength.
But Zamores wanted to be home for the holidays. He pushed himself and was able to return home on December 24, just in time for Christmas.