Montgomery County woman gives her friend the ultimate gift
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) -- Living liver transplants are complicated surgeries, where the donor gives part of their liver. It comes with some pain and months of recovery, but that didn't stop one special transplant at Jefferson Health.
It's their happy dance of life for Ashley Renshaw and Kaitlyn Wagner, who now share one liver.
"Out of the blue, I had no idea I had anything wrong with me. I thought it was just working-mom-tired," Renshaw said.
Ashley, a teacher near Pottstown, learned she needed a liver transplant. Her liver was damaged from a rare blood disorder.
"I couldn't tell her anything," Wagner said.
Wagner, a family friend who also played field hockey with Ashley in Montgomery County, immediately started testing to become a living donor.
"I'm healthy, I don't have kids," Wagner said.
She learned a part of her liver could be used to replace Ashley's.
"Both halves then grow to accommodate the needs of each patient," Dr. Ashesh Shah, of Jefferson Health, said.
Dr. Ashesh Shah said the liver has the remarkable ability to regenerate itself.
"I liken it to a tree," Dr. Ashesh Shah said. "If you were to take a tree and take a branch off, you can get that to sprout and then grow that into a tree."
It was a 10-hour operation, but for Kaitlyn, it was an easy decision.
"We've cried multiple times over it I'm just happy to see children having a mother," Wagner said.
A year and a half after the transplant, the teammates are both recovered with no complications.
"My husband got to keep his wife. My parents got to keep their daughter and most importantly my kids got to keep their mom. So it wasn't about me the entire time," Renshaw tearfully explained.
She and her family are overwhelmed with gratitude.
"It's just the ultimate selfless act," Renshaw said.
Their unbreakable bond, now also sealed with matching tattoos over their surgery scars that say: "She whispered back; we are the storm."
They say they chose that quote because they've lived through a storm together.