Liz Stigall’s long journey will continue

Liz Stigall’s long journey will continue
Wednesday, 19 May 2010

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Give Liz Stigall her wish and she will soon set out on a journey to some distant destination. Perhaps it will be Hawaii, or somewhere fun. Somewhere new for sure.

“I really want to travel,” Stigall said.

And why not?

Now 29, Stigall has spent the past 17 years dealing with and treating a host of serious medical issues involving her kidneys and pancreas. She was 12 when she learned she had diabetes. By the time she was 21, Stigall was treating a painful ailment of the pancreas — chronic pancreatitis.

Since 2005, Stigall underwent a full pancreatectomy to surgically remove her entire pancreas and eliminate the pain that accompanied the chronic pancreatitis. By March of 2009 as her diabetes grew worse and her kidneys failed, she was forced to begin kidney dialysis.

It was then that her name was added to the national transplant list.

That’s a snapshot of nearly two decades of life for Liz Stigall. It has been a period that has afforded Stigall little time to do things beyond visits to doctors and hospitals and learning how to survive.

Life for Stigall, however, turned a positive corner on St. Patrick’s Day this year when she entered the transplant center at the University of Minnesota Hospital, Fairview, for a double transplant.

By 6:30 a.m. on March 18, following eight hours in the operating room, surgeons had transplanted a new kidney and pancreas.

A Long Road

It has been a long road for Liz Stigall.

While her health may have presented roadblocks that prevented her from enjoying life in ways most people take for granted, it has been a learning process.

Now two months removed from transplant surgery, she continues to make lifestyle adjustments.

Gone is the kidney dialysis, but replaced by a daily regimen of anti-rejection drugs that the body will need in order to accept the foreign organs that have given her new life.

The almost regular hospital stays are also gone, but there have been some in-and-out hospital visits as her body deals with a major physical change.

The recovery from surgery has not been easy, but Stigall says she is ready for a new, normal chapter of her young life. Stigall says she believes the hard part is behind her. And a hard part it was.

Faced Adversity

As a kid, Stigall was forced to grow up with adversity. She was 4 when Barb and Kim Stigall and daughters Liz and Emily moved to Forest Lake.

By the time Liz was 12, she was type one diabetic. She learned early on how to give herself insulin shots. The ability to do things for herself would come in handy later on.

The diabetes and insulin shots did not prevent Liz from leading a somewhat normal life as a kid. She graduated Forest Lake High School in 1999 and went off to St. Cloud State University with her lifelong best friend Stefanie Okeson.

It was while she was in St. Cloud that doctors finally diagnosed the frequent bouts of severe stomach pain as chronic pancreatitis.

Her final two years of college were grueling. The acute attacks were so painful that Stigall required emergency room visits and hospital stays of two to three days before the pain would become manageable. By the time she had earned her degree in elementary education, Stigall had been forced to make nearly 80 emergency room visits and subsequent hospital stays.

With her degree in hand, she moved home in 2003 still wondering. “What is causing this?”

For the next two years, Stigall spent more time dealing with her health. She was unable to move forward with any long-term career plans; there was time for repeated trips to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and to the University of Minnesota in attempts to find relief.

Her options were slim. Doctors advised her that she could have the pancreas removed or continue to take doses of supplements and digestive pills to help make the pancreas function to some degree.

In 2005 she made the decision to have the pancreas removed. “This allowed me to live without it for a little while,” she said.

To complicate matters, Stigall said, as time moved on her kidneys grew weaker and the stress and strain from the pancreas took its toll. By early in 2009, they were starting to fail.

In March of last year she was on full dialysis and on the transplant list. Rather than make regular trips to a hospital or a dialysis clinic, Stigall was trained to handle her own treatments and was set up with the necessary equipment at home.

“You can pick any five days of the week, any time of the day,” she said of the dialysis that would keep her alive.

It was a procedure that could take up to four hours. By not having to travel for the treatment, Stigall said she was able to continue her part-time work and volunteering at her church, Forest Hills United Methodist in Forest Lake.

Throughout her health struggles, Stigall said, she has tried to remain productive. Even while battling pain during her college years, she logged time working as a nanny for a family in St. Cloud.

A Big Decision

In November — just six months into her dialysis — Stigall was called by the hospital. Two organs had been found. The kidney was a perfect match for her B negative blood type, but the pancreas was not as perfect. She had little time to decide.

“I said no,” Stigall recalled. “It was a weird decision; it was on my birthday Nov. 5th.”

It was indeed a big decision. “Was I supposed to take those organs?” she wondered.

“It didn’t seem right for me. I waited for a better match.”

The wait ended at 10 p.m. on March 17 when the transplant center at the University of Minnesota Hospital, Fairview, called. Organs were again available. “I went in that night,” she said.

With a strong match for both the kidney and pancreas, Stigall was ready this time for the life-changing surgery.

“I knew I had to do the kidney,” she said. “I wanted to do the pancreas, too. I wanted to live.”

Starting Anew

After months and years of being tied to doctors, life-preserving machines and the telephone call that would change her life, Stigall says it is now time to move on.

It’s easy to understand her desire to step out and see parts of the world that she was able to only dream about for years. Then there will be work, a career of some kind and perhaps a family of her own some day.

She has the college degree in her pocket, but is not certain what she will do.

“I feel like I’m a totally different person,” Stigall said. “I may want to go in a different [career] direction.”

When the time comes for Liz Stigall to step out, it will come with the good-wishes of her many friends and family in Forest Lake.

Sunday Benefit

Her medical journey has been expensive, but she has been fortunate to have good insurance through her family and later in her adult years with MinnesotaCare and Social Security medical disability.

Her friends will rally to her side on Sunday for a benefit at Hosanna Lutheran Church from 3-7 p.m. The benefit will include a spaghetti dinner, silent auction, drawings and music by “Too Square,” featuring locals Mark Kuefler and Dan Birdsall.

“We just started the ball rolling,” said Kathy Okeson, Stefanie’s mom and one of Barb Stigall’s best friends and a second mom to Liz. A host of friends including staff at Linwood Elementary where Barb teaches third-grade are pooling their efforts for the benefit.

Sunday’s event is every bit a celebration, Okeson says.

The fund-raiser is also in partnership with the congregation at Forest Hills United Methodist Church where the Stigalls attend.

“We all know the Stigalls in different ways,”
Okeson says.

Along with raising some funds for Liz, Sunday’s event will also be a time to raise public awareness for organ donation. A booth providing details on organ donation and how to become a donor will be available.

A special guest on Sunday will be Nick Masterjohn, Forest Lake, who became a heart transplant recipient in 2004.

Organ donation is certainly something on Liz’s mind. She has the option in the future to reach out to the family of the man in Kansas who became an organ donor. His death in an accident meant life for several others.

Through the LifeSource program, Stigall will be able to contact the family which will remain anonymous. The family — after hearing from Stigall — has the option of making contact with her.

Want to Help?

Advance sale dinner tickets for the benefit are on sale at Forest Hills United Methodist at $7 for adults and $5 for children. Kids under 3 are free. Tickets will be available at the door, but will be $1 higher than the advance sale.

For ticket information, call Kathy Okeson at 651-464-5422.

Matching funds will be provided by Thrivent Financial.

A fund for Liz Stigall has also been started. Donations may be sent to: Liz Stigall Fund, Patriot Bank Minnesota, 19810 Headwaters Blvd. N., Forest Lake, MN 55025.

Hosanna Lutheran Church is at 9300 Scandia Trail N. (TH-97) three miles east of US-61.

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