Britta is a physical therapist who works for a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in central Pa. She enjoys exercising, exploring the outdoors, and cooking and baking.
When Britta arrived at work on August 11, 2023, she started to feel unwell. “I started to forget my passwords, and I got really confused. It was almost like it was my first day on the job,” Britta says. “I also had a little bit of abdominal pain.”
Britta left work and went to her local emergency department, where she was diagnosed with the flu. She returned home to rest and recover. Two days later, after going to the bathroom, Britta saw bright red blood in her toilet.
Emergency Surgery for Intestinal Obstruction and Volvulus
Britta went back to her local hospital, where she was diagnosed with intestinal obstruction because of a volvulus. Volvulus is a condition in which the intestine twists itself, cutting off its blood supply. Britta’s intestinal obstruction and volvulus led to the death of her intestinal tissue. Surgeons at her local hospital removed some of Britta’s intestinal tissue before transferring her via helicopter to UPMC Montefiore in Pittsburgh, Pa. At UPMC Montefiore, surgeons from the UPMC Gastrointestinal Rehabilitation and Transplant Program removed more intestinal tissue.
Recovering from Emergency Surgery and Starting Her Transplant Journey
Britta was in and out of consciousness for about a month as she recovered from these emergency surgeries.
As she regained consciousness, Britta had one question for her care team. “My first question was, ‘When can I go back to work?’” Britta says. “I take a lot of self-worth in my occupation. I’m very proud to help veterans.”
“My care team said, ‘Well, it’s going to be a while.’ I said, ‘Well, then get me a walker,’ because I knew that was what I had to do for myself, to push forward and to keep working toward walking and exercising to the ability that I was able to, to help me get better quicker,” Britta says. “Everyday, I would try to walk about a half a mile, walking circles around the hallway.”
Britta learned that she no longer had enough intestine to absorb nutrients from food. She was now dependent on total parenteral nutrition (TPN), nutrition delivered via IV directly into the bloodstream. Britta’s care team informed her that her treatment options were either to continue living on TPN or to receive an intestinal transplant. Britta decided to pursue an intestinal transplant.
Following her discharge from the hospital, Britta underwent the intestinal transplant evaluation process at UPMC and learned that she was eligible to receive an intestinal transplant. Her next step was to wait for a deceased-donor organ to become available.
Waiting for a Transplant
Britta waited 399 days for an intestinal transplant. “The hardest part was that if UPMC called me, that was the only number that would ring through when my phone was silent,” Britta says. “That same number would call me for labs or something that was not transplant related, and when my phone would ring, my heart would jump, like ‘It’s time.’”
Britta’s husband, family, and friends supported her as she waited for a transplant. Britta also found support through her local Hollidaysburg, Pa. women’s group, a gardening club and a bible study group.
She also joined online intestinal transplant support groups. Britta says, “We were all going through the process of trying to get an intestinal transplant. It was nice to have somebody to talk to, to say, ‘This day is awful,’ or ‘This day is great.’ It was nice to have a connection there.”
More than a year later, Britta got the call. “My donor, my hero, came along and saved my life. My transplant was September 14, 2024.”
Life after Transplant
Britta experienced ups and downs after her transplant surgery. She was still TPN-dependent and contracted an infection in her abdominal cavity while in the hospital. To treat the infection, Britta was on IV antibiotics for a year after her transplant. A big part of Britta’s posttransplant days at home were spent managing her schedule of TPN, IV fluids, and IV antibiotics.
“It was really hard for me to go from being completely independent to having this schedule that was so incredibly complex,” Britta says. “I felt like, to the best I could, I was keeping a positive attitude. I was getting counseling at the time because it’s very easy to get down, to lose a little bit of hope.”
In the months after her transplant, Britta was able to return to work as a physical therapist. She enjoyed taking walks when she felt well enough to help clear her mind.
“I walk more slowly than I used to, but I’m able to get out and enjoy going for a walk, which is really good for me, being out in the open and amongst nature,” Britta says. Britta has had to adjust to a change in her physical stamina. Before her emergency surgeries in 2023, Britta had a jam-packed schedule of early morning exercise classes, full workdays, and late night cooking and baking.
After her transplant, Britta has to take more breaks between and during activities.
“I get up, go to work, and then I’m exhausted. I need to lie down for a couple of hours and reset. That’s been hard for me, because I’m not the type to take breaks,” Britta says. “That’s something that counseling also really helped with because I just had to get over the fact that you can’t control so many factors.”
Posttransplant, Britta has also enjoyed cooking and baking, exploring new recipes and making her family’s holiday favorites, like pierogies and chocolate chip cookies. She has also had to adjust how she cooks and bakes.
“During the transplant process, I developed osteoporosis, and I still have two compression fractures in my spine. The fractures make it difficult and painful to stand for a very long time,” Britta says. Marathon baking sessions aren’t as feasible for Britta.
“It has been a little bit upsetting and sad that I can’t stand there and enjoy cooking and baking as much,” Britta says. “But again, it’s just a matter of readjusting how your brain processes that type of thing. You just think, ‘Well, I have to do it in stages now.’”
My husband always says, ‘Take care of your health first and worry about the rest later.’ So, there will be nights where I get a little frazzled, ‘Oh this needs to get done, that needs to get done,’ but he reminds me, ‘This other stuff can wait.’”
Britta’s Posttransplant Setback
Unfortunately, in the autumn of 2025, Britta experienced a setback. Britta developed another intestinal obstruction with perforation. A perforation is a hole in the wall of the digestive tract, which can be life-threatening and cause severe pain and bleeding. Due to the obstruction and perforation, half of Britta’s transplanted intestine was removed. After several weeks, she was able to return to work, but she was now dependent on TPN again.
“This setback has caused me a tremendous amount of difficulty with my mental health because I got pulled back out of work; I’m back on TPN. I know there are going to be hiccups, but I hope and pray the rest of my life isn’t spent having setbacks,” Britta says.
Britta has leaned on her faith, taking time to reflect in nature, and her social support to cope with this setback. “I’ve been praying a lot, spending a lot of time outside in reflection. I journal a lot, and that really helps me. And then, support from my family and the community and hearing people just say, ‘You got this!’”
Britta Continues to Stay Positive
Britta finds motivation and positivity through her work, her loved ones, and her community. “My Hollidaysburg area women’s group asked me to be the chairwoman for a big fundraiser in March 2026. Organizing a fundraiser has been so much fun. It’s getting me out of the house and getting me in contact with a lot of people in the community who I didn’t know before,” Britta says.
“I also have a bible group. If I’m having a bad day all I have to do is send one message and they’re always there for support, saying, ‘We’re going to pray today, and we’re going to figure this out.’ I always leave the meeting feeling better,” Britta says.
Britta is grateful for her UPMC intestinal transplant team. “I feel incredibly lucky. They saved my life. The team is incredibly motivating, and they keep great track of me. I’m just so happy that I ended up under the care of such an incredible group of professionals.”
Britta's treatment and results may not be representative of other cases.
