Community Corner
From Triple Organ Transplant to Summit Success
Sarah McPharlin's Triumph Over Adversity
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Just five years into living in Chicago, Sarah McPharlin has achieved athletic feats surpassing those of many lifelong residents. She has participated in charity events around the city, including Hustle Chicago® stair climb. Yet, physical obstacles pale in comparison to her transformative journey from a triple heart, liver, and kidney transplant in 2018.
Before her life-changing transplant, Sarah's world was confined by the limitations of her failing organs. Sarah was just 11 when she contracted giant cell myocarditis, a rare inflammatory condition of the heart which required her to get a heart transplant. Over the next 17 years, a variety of complications led to failure of her transplanted heart.
“I’d get shortness of breath. I couldn’t talk and walk, I was always freezing,” she recalls. After several hospitals told her they lacked the equipment or expertise to perform the necessary triple-organ transplant, she was referred to the University of Chicago Medical Center. The transplant marked a turning point. “After my transplant, I felt amazing,” she beams. “I had skinny legs, kept building muscles periodically, and through cardiac rehab, I got stronger.”
The post-transplant journey was not without its hurdles. Adjusting to immunosuppressant medications, necessary to prevent organ rejection, and the occasional hospital visit presented their own “hiccups.”
“My magnesium was constantly low, so I had to go to the hospital once a week, if not twice, for a magnesium infusion,” she shares. Being immunosuppressed meant she couldn’t attend rehab for the first six months. Her donated heart, slightly smaller than her cavity, led to fluid buildup, necessitating a return to the hospital for drainage.
The medical marvel that enabled this transformation was a complex process. Her heart condition had a cascading effect on her liver and kidney, explained Dr. Valluvan Jeevanandam, MD, Director of the Heart and Vascular Center at UChicago Medicine, and the surgeon who led the medical team overseeing Sarah’s case.
“On paper, [Sarah] was somebody that you would never think about [operating.] But the second we met her, we saw her positive attitude, we met her parents, and I would say that this was mind over matter,” remarked Dr. Jeevanandam, or Dr. J as Sarah calls him, on the discussions his team held in deciding whether to give someone a chance at life or determining if they were too debilitated to undergo the surgery. “Her mind actually got her through this and that's why she has been successful in terms of rehabilitation.”
Six months post-op, Sarah found her stride in cardiac rehab. Once that started, she would walk around the city with her mom, riding a bike, weight training, etc. Sarah comments that “the care didn't stop after our surgery; We still feel very connected to the team. We always feel that questions are welcomed, and we hear back. We've just kind of become like a family unit.” She still regularly keeps in contact with the medical team that saved her life. Together, they have a group chat: Delta Force, a nickname for the operating team.
In 2020, Sarah contacted Dr. Jeevanandam about participating in the Hustle Chicago charity stair climb as a team. Dr. Jeevanandam patroned a corporate team for the hospital. Sarah became a driving force in getting the UChicago Medical Team to join. Behind the scenes, she convinced the president of the University of Chicago Medical Center, Thomas “Tom” Jackiewicz, to join.
"When one climbs 94 stories, the last names disappear. There's a certain familiarity with that type of event that causes people to become friends," she mused.
The climb itself is a metaphor for Sarah's personal journey—stepping up, one story at a time, conquering not just the physical heights but the emotional and mental peaks that recovering from an organ transplant entail. The transplant, Dr. Jeevanandam explains, “was like a marathon, and because of that, we ended up running a marathon and [climbing] Hustle every year. So, it didn't stop with the surgery, it's getting more and more physical.”
Preparing for Hustle Chicago stair climb is no small feat. Sarah begins by climbing the stairs in her apartment, gradually increasing the intensity. Her parents became climbing companions, and together they mimic the climb, step by step, elevating the challenge each time. There's a tangible sense of accomplishment in reaching the top, hands raised in triumph.
It's not just a personal challenge for Sarah; it's a platform to promote causes close to her heart. “I like to promote other causes like healthy air, healthy lungs, healthy lifestyles, and show that organ donation has allowed me to do all these tasks and competitions,” said McPharlin.
Now, almost five years after her transplant, Sarah's life is a testament to resilience. There are no restrictions; she can do anything she sets her mind to, with just one exception—driving, due to epilepsy resulting from her first transplant. But even this limitation doesn't define her. Her commitment to pushing boundaries extends to her professional life. She now works as a physical therapy tech in the same hospital that saved her life, feeling the call to contribute more.
Dr. Jeevanandam helps put Sarah’s incredibly successful recovery in perspective: “In the history of the world, there are only 35 multiple organ transplant recipients. Most are not climbing 1,000 feet skyscrapers!”
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