Restaurateurs share liver after transplant

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Restaurateurs share liver after transplant

By J. , Freeman staff

11/16/2004

Two weeks after undergoing a risky liver transplant procedure, Ulster County restaurateurs Ellen s and Jolene Ellsworth are expected to make a slow and painful but full recovery.

On Nov. 2, the two women checked into Westchester Medical Center, where s, who owns Ivan's Restaurant at the Rondout Golf Club, donated about 65 percent of her liver to Ellsworth, the owner of Zachary's Place in Rosendale, who suffers from Hepatitis C contracted during a blood transfusion. "Every day is a struggle, but I'm getting there," said s, who must undergo a second operation because of complications with the first procedure. "The pain is about what I anticipated. There haven't really been any surprises." s is house-bound and resting as she waits for the missing section of her liver to grow back, a process that is expected to take three to four months. "I get very tired," she said. "I wash a couple of dishes and then I'm on my back for a couple of hours." Ellsworth, meanwhile, is recuperating at home and undergoing a drug treatment regimen to prevent her body from rejecting the transplanted liver tissue. Twice a week, she must travel to Westchester Medical Center for follow-up treatment, said her husband, Steve Ellsworth. Steve Ellsworth said he expects his wife to be back on her feet within the next three months. "She's doing well, but she's in a lot of pain," he said. "The anti-rejection drugs suppress her immune system, so she can catch anything real easy. So we don't have a lot of visitors, and when we do, they have to wear a mask." The women were just casual acquaintances earlier this year when s heard about Ellsworth's illness and volunteered for the surgery. Now, they speak on the phone several times a day but have not seen each other since the procedure. In the months prior to the surgery, friends and family of the women raised thousands of dollars to help pay for s' surgery, which was not covered by insurance, as well as to help support her during the recovery period. A liver transplant is a relatively new procedure that carries greater risks to both donors and recipients than kidney transplants, a more common procedure that also may incorporate living donors. Both women were advised that there was a one in 200 chance they would not survive the surgery and recovery. "I think it's just amazing," said Steve Ellsworth. " Its amazing that they can do (a liver transplant) and it's even more amazing that someone like Ellen would step up to the tee and do it. That takes a very special person."

©Daily Freeman 2004

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