CHICAGO (WLS) — It’s been six months since 55-year-old Andrew Wagner received a life-saving procedure.
He came back to Chicago for a post-surgery check-up on Tuesday.
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“Our kids see us differently. They see our strength,” Wagner said.
The Florida man has recently experienced a surge in strength after battling a series of health challenges over the past 15 years. It all began in 2010 when he was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a type of autoimmune disease.
“The impact was significant because I had to be put into a coma for over a month, a bit longer, prior to my transplant. So, the situation was extremely critical at that point,” Wagner shared regarding his initial struggle.
His needs were quickly met with his first liver transplant in Florida.
“I’m not a smoker, never been a smoker, and nobody in the family,” Wagner said.
But 12 years later, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2022.
“It was found on a scan, and we didn’t know it was there. Apparently, it had been there for a while,” said Wagner’s wife, Nicole.
A year after a successful surgery and ringing a bell as a cancer-free patient, he was unknowingly preparing for another health battle.
He got sick again, but it was not cancer.
“It was revealed that the issue stemmed from the liver, and it was showing signs of deteriorating once again,” Wagner explained. “We started to notice the decline in liver function, and it felt like a never-ending cycle of challenges. It was a truly testing period for me.”
Wagner’s condition was worsening, and because he was not three to five years cancer free, doctors told him another liver transplant was not an option.
They were denied help from multiple medical centers in Florida.
“We just looked at each other, and I just knew that’s the end of the road,” Nicole said.
But doctors at Chicago’s Northwestern Hospital said yes.
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“And everybody agreed that we should give him a shot,” said Northwestern Medicine hepatologist Dr. Andres Duarte.
So, in December doctors surgically gave Wagner a second chance at life.
“If he will be eligible for a transplant with another organ, why not consider him for liver transplantation?” Duarte said.
It was just in time to be released and back home for this past Father’s Day. The Wagners are grateful for one family’s sacrifice that allowed this husband and father to live another day.
“We are just so thankful for that donor, and that person who said yes,” Nicole said.
The girl-granddad is now back home in Orlando, Florida with their four daughters with, he says, a new lease on life.
“Obviously, I thank God, but my wife was really the catalyst to making all this happen for me and my family,” Wagner said.
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