“This Saturday, it will be a month that I’ve been home. Who would have thought it?”

Who indeed would have thought that 28-year-old Sara Ultz would survive an October 2006 six-organ transplant only to face more transplants this spring when the new organs malfunctioned?

However, a new medicine proved to be a wonder drug for Sara and she was released from Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital to the care of her parents in Athens last month without having to have the dangerous procedure repeated.

Sara, daughter of city Public Works employee Gail Ultz and Code Enforcement Officer Ron Ultz, both of Athens, received a stomach, pancreas, spleen, liver, and small and large intestines from a 9-year-old donor in 15-hour transplant surgery.

“I take 40 pills a day, but that’s a small price to pay for a brand new life,” said Sara from her father’s home Friday.

Life interrupted

Sara was living in Birmingham, working for a health care management firm and was just four classes away from earning her masters in business administration in Birmingham, in August 2005 when she experienced a severe stomachache. A friend took her to Brookwood Hospital emergency room and doctors determined that she had a bowel obstruction and the small intestine had looped around itself.

“This is a possible complication of gastric bypass surgery that Sara had several years ago,” said Ron Ultz.

She had emergency surgery the next day at 6 a.m. and surgery every day for three days. She wound up with 18 inches of small intestine. Doctors removed half of the small intestine in the first surgery, but the remaining intestine continued to die, so on the second day, doctors removed half of what was left, and the third day removed all but 18 inches.

Sara was in the hospital for 6 1/2 weeks the first time and then came back to Athens to live with her mother. Gail Ultz cared for her daughter, administering painful blood-thinning injections and intravenous feedings. She also received home health care visits.

She was in and out of the hospital several more times and when doctors attempted to reattach the remaining 18 inches of small intestines they discovered that portion had also died.

Sara contemplated a lifetime of being connected to an ostemy bag.

Call for help