Bonnie Taylor

Bonnie Taylor is spending time in the kitchen again with husband Mike after a liver transplant saved her life.

Bonnie Taylor loved the ups and downs of roller coasters, but she never expected that her life would become one after being hit by a car at age 12. After fracturing her skull in the accident and unknowingly receiving a blood transfusion tainted with the hepatitis C virus, she went more than two decades before she was diagnosed with the liver disorder. It wasn't until 2003 that 51-year-old Taylor began to feel the effects of the illness, which affects nearly 4 million Americans.

"It was after my wedding that I started not feeling well, but it was nothing in particular," recalls Taylor, who wed her second husband, Mike, in June 2003. But newlywed bliss was cut short when a few months later her son Michael died in a car accident.

"It was devastating. I didn't know what to do," says Taylor, who by then was fatigued and lethargic. "I was, of course, grieving and crying a lot, but I started feeling really sick."

At one point, she collapsed. Her family thought she'd suffered a stroke, but doctors at a Virginia hospital, despite her hepatitis C diagnosis, insisted she was simply depressed and sent her home. Her grief eased over time, but her discomfort persisted, and by the summer of 2004, the left side of her abdomen was throbbing. "I also felt a thickness on my left side in the area," Taylor recalls. "I knew my liver was on the right side so I thought it was pain reflecting."

A gastroenterologist near her Virginia home ordered a sonogram, found a 9-pound tumor on her spleen and diagnosed Taylor with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In September 2004, she underwent surgery and received two rounds of chemotherapy, but the protocol was discontinued as it began to adversely affect her liver. Within a year she was in remission, but the celebration was short lived.

Taylor is sharing her experience in the hopes of increasing awareness so others can make informed decisions about organ donation.

"I began to get very ill again, this time from the liver disease," Taylor says. "It started really progressing, and I was so sick that I could barely walk. I couldn't eat anything, and I was in and out of the hospital."

Given her bout of cancer, physicians in Virginia didn't consider her a good candidate for a liver transplant, which is typically the last option for patients with chronic, progressive liver disorders such as Hepatitis C. "The doctors sent me home to basically die."

Her family would not give up hope and began a quest for a facility that would give Taylor a chance. First, she went to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, which had a three- to five-year waiting list for liver transplants. Then Taylor's sister read about Mayo Clinic on the Internet, and in the fall of 2006, the family came to Jacksonville. Taylor met with hepatologist Dr. Jaime Aranda-Michel and the group of doctors who make up Mayo Clinic's Gastroenterology & Hepatology Department to discuss options.

"A transplant is not something to be taken lightly, but there was no doubt she had several complications," says Aranda-Michel. "Even though we could try to treat the complications, a transplant was the best solution for long-term survival."

Mayo Clinic liver transplant surgeon Dr. Winston Hewitt says the transplant program at Mayo Clinic is aggressive not only about what organs are considered for patients, but also about giving marginal livers a chance. Because of this, the waiting time to transplant is shorter than any other center within the region — a little over a month on average.

Taylor's son Michael shortly before his accident.

"We look at whether the donated organ is better than the liver the patient currently has and if it could sustain the patient well," says Hewitt.

In Taylor's case, it was. She will always remember the moment when her life began an upward turn. It was 8:02 a.m., Jan. 12, 2007. A liver had been found.

"I did not anticipate that call then, as it had only been about two months," says Taylor. "I thought it was my daughter because she would call every morning, but I saw the area code on the phone and I started shaking. I was so sick and tired of being sick and I was fighting for so long to get to that point."

The irony for Taylor is that organ donation had already touched her life twice. Her first husband had died waiting for a heart transplant, and following his death, her children became designated organ donors. When her son died, his kidneys, liver, heart and lungs helped at least five people. Taylor also donated his tissues, bones and bone marrow to treat burn victims, cancer patients and for research.

"You don't think about it until something hits home to make you more aware," says Taylor. "I prayed that there would be someone there to help me like my son helped others."

After her transplant, Taylor stayed in Jacksonville for a few weeks so doctors could monitor her for signs of organ rejection and adjust the medication that she will take for the remainder of her life. Not only is she is thriving, she has better than average odds.

"Historically, 89 percent of liver transplant patients have at least a one-year survival rate," Hewitt says. "Her liver function is normal and she is doing fantastic. If she keeps up with taking her medications, eats right and maintains a healthy lifestyle, her five-year survival is excellent — in excess of 80 percent."

Today, Taylor is at the top of her ride.

"My life has been profoundly changed, and I want other people to know," says Taylor, who is also working to raise awareness about organ donation. "People are dying unnecessarily because others are not aware of the necessity for donors or of all the people across the country who need transplants."

Taylor also is enjoying old hobbies again, like cooking and outings with her family.

"I can't wait to take my granddaughter to the amusement park to ride the roller coasters," Taylor says. "We already have a date planned."