Stomach pain is something everyone has probably had at some point in their life. But for one woman, her stomach pain set in motion a journey that led her to Mayo Clinic and the experts who could perform a lifesaving surgery.

Jessie Boyd has dedicated her life to health and fitness. She's been teaching kids about the benefits of exercise as a physical education teacher for nearly two decades. When it comes to her own fitness, you could find Jessie out hiking, biking — anything to stay active. For Jessie, maintaining a healthy lifestyle means the sky's the limit. But one morning in 2021, Jessie's active lifestyle came to an abrupt halt due to sudden and excruciating stomach pain.

Watch: Jessie's Journey

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (2:26) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.

"My mom and Justin (Jessie's friend) took me to the hospital right near our house, they admit me. They do a whole bunch of tests, and they determined that I had a hole in my intestine," says Jessie.

Jessie was taken into surgery immediately to repair the hole, and that's when surgeons discovered there was an even bigger problem. Additional testing revealed that Jessie was born with Budd-Chiari syndrome, a rare condition that causes impaired blood flow in the liver. A liver transplant was her only hope. But Jessie and her family were told a liver transplant was not an option and she was days from death.

"They said, 'We do not have the expertise to give Jessie the liver transplant,'" Jessie says. "And my mom and Justin (are) like, 'What are you talking about?' So, Mom and Justin said, 'Please get her to Mayo.'"

"Somebody with acute liver failure similar to the status she presented with, if they don't get the lifesaving liver transplant within seven days, they are unlikely to make it," says Dr. Bashar Aqel, a liver transplant specialist at Mayo Clinic.

Jessie got to Mayo Clinic in Arizona, but a donor organ still had to be located. Then on Christmas Day, a donor organ was found, thanks to the generosity of a person who made the decision to give the gift of life.

"So my whole family was cheering and jumping and everything, and Justin said, 'Thank you, God,'" says Jessie.

Dr. Aqel says those words mean a lot. "When we hear those words, I just say we get goosebumps because we love what we do. And that's the reason we continue doing what we are doing. Because with every donor, we save up to eight lives." "I'm two years and four months out from my transplant, and I'm better than I've ever been. And I just hope that I can give hope to another person who goes through something like this. And fight, because it's worth it," says Jessie.

Related Articles:

• Liver's regenerative ability allows for living donors
• Liver transplant patient becomes volunteer for department that saved his life

Related Articles