Pam S.
Liver Transplant
Pam Stubbs from Arizona had felt bad for so long, she forgot what it was like to feel good. She worried that her heart was causing her fatigue and shortness of breath. But it was Pam’s liver. After a battery of tests, she learned from her Mayo Clinic team that she needed a liver transplant, a message that stunned her, given her history of excellent health.
It turned out that Pam had an inherited disease that was slowly destroying her liver. Aside from her career in real estate, Pam’s passion was riding horses – and participating in championship riding. She put her full trust in her Mayo Clinic liver transplant physicians, hoping her determination to stay healthy would result in her being able to reclaim that life she so valued.
“I was told to prepare like I was training for a marathon, and to get as physically fit as I possibly could,” recalls Pam. She put her all into that advice, working with a trainer and attending a support group. On July 1, 2016, she got the call from Mayo. A liver was waiting for her. Pam said she immediately knew she would “breeze through” the procedure.
She did well enough after the surgery that she put her efforts toward getting back to the life she loved – competitive horse riding. She was back in the saddle in September, and in 2017, she won two world championships at a world horse show.
Pam thanks her Mayo team, saying, “They help save so many lives. It’s an incredible gift they are giving to others like me.”
Last Updated on January 5, 2021
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