Astellas Transplant

Transplant recipients inspire us all with their commitment to reaching for goals and overcoming challenges. By pursuing further education, transplant recipients can gain even more power to make real differences in the lives of the people around them.

Through the Transplant Scholars Award, Astellas is proud to recognize and support transplant recipients who honor the amazing gift of life they have received by pursuing further education and giving back to the transplant community. The Transplant Scholars Award helps 6 transplant scholars pursue their academic dreams with a $5,000 scholarship. Congratulations to the 6 winners of the 2009 Transplant Scholars Award:

Zachary Brooks, kidney transplant recipient from Burbank, CA
Zachary Brooks is a two-time kidney recipient whose second chance at life compelled him to give back to others. Following his first transplant, Zachary left his job at a start-up company to become a teacher in Los Angeles. Zachary is now pursuing a Master's in Applied Linguistics with the ultimate goal of becoming a professor. Throughout his transplant experience and educational journey, Zachary has been a regular volunteer with the National Kidney Foundation and has participated in the US Transplant Games.
Click here to read Zachary's story.

Brianne Catarozoli, liver transplant recipient from Eagle, WI
In March 2009, Brianne Catarozoli was diagnosed with a rare liver disease, and though she had been a seemingly healthy college student, her condition quickly deteriorated until she was in danger of losing her life. Fortunately, on April 7, Brianne received a lifesaving liver transplant. Because she almost lost her dream of becoming a teacher, Brianne is now even more determined to achieve her dream and complete her degree. As a teaching professional, she plans to share her story and educate families on the importance of organ donation and the miracle of transplantation.
Click here to read Brianne's story.

Jessica Chipkin, liver transplant recipient from Kinnelon, NJ
Following a lifesaving liver transplant at age 22, Jessica Chipkin returned to college to finish her undergraduate degree and then began a career in advertising. She also actively volunteers with the American Liver Foundation, the New York Organ Donor Network and in a local hospital's transplant department. Her hands-on work with transplant recipients inspired her to switch careers, and she is now enrolled in post-graduate studies to become a social worker.
Click here to read Jessica's story.

Patrice Fisher, heart and kidney transplant recipient from Southaven, MS
Patrice Fisher was pursuing a bachelor's degree in political science when she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and end-stage renal disease. Thankfully, she received a heart and kidney transplant in September 2008. Patrice's second chance at life inspired her to change her educational path and she will soon begin a nursing program to become an advanced practice nurse specializing in cardiology/nephrology for transplant recipients.
Click here to read Patrice's story.

Julie Hotze, liver transplant recipient from Teutopolis, IL
After undergoing two liver transplants in 1990, Julie Hotze wanted to reciprocate the kindness offered by her donor families by volunteering in her community. Julie donates time tutoring, teaching religion and volunteering with a local youth group. She has also made more than 25 quilts for children at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, a four hour distance from her home, where she volunteers. To continue giving back, Julie is pursuing a degree in elementary education and wants to help children find a love for learning. She will also continue educating her community about the importance of organ donation.
Click here to read Julie's story.

Douglas Lampert Jr., liver transplant recipient from St. Louis, MO
Douglas Lampert Jr. received a liver transplant when he was only nine months old, and since then, he has dedicated his life to raising awareness about the importance of organ donation. As a child, he participated in the Transplant Olympics in Japan, where he was able share his story with people from all over the world. This experience helped drive Douglas' interest in learning languages so that he could share his story even more broadly. As a college student, Douglas is currently studying French and German alongside his primary degree of psychology. He hopes to work in a hospital and apply his psychology degree to helping families through the process of organ donation and transplantation.
Click here to read Douglas' story.

Zachary Brooks, 39
Kidney recipient
Burbank, CA

Astellas Transplant Scholars Award Essay

Satisfaction! I never understood the sliver of difference between happiness and satisfaction until I won the gold in the 20K bicycle race at the U.S. Transplant Games. Only ten years earlier I had learned that a sliver in the x-ray of my toe meant that my life was going to change. I had kidney disease. And so a few months later on April 14, 1999 my father and I lay side-by-side and I successfully received a new kidney.

Up until that time I had worked long hours at VeriSign, a Silicon Valley startup, but I knew I wanted more education and that my goal in life was to teach. It took a few years of moonlighting for me to become a teacher. The Los Angeles Unified School District gave me my first teaching job and I am still working there today.

My studies were continuing when I received news of my need for a round of dialysis and a second transplant. Luckily for me, my family had never left my side. On June 5, 2007, I successfully received a second kidney, this time from my Mom. I received the gift of life.

For me, receiving a kidney compelled me to want to give to others. That's why I volunteer for National Kidney Foundation (NKF) of Southern California and give speeches to raise awareness and money for kidney research. I lobbied my Congressman on behalf of the NKF's "People Like Us" program to provide more funding for kidney screenings. Finally, I achieved one of my life's big successes: Working with Dr. Roberto Vargas from UCLA, I convinced the Los Angeles City Council to proclaim March 12, 2009 "World Kidney Day."

In the meanwhile, my education has continued. I began my Masters in Applied Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston (GPA 3.940). I also have had success in the teaching world in spite of the statewide cuts in my profession. I now teach at UCLA, Los Angeles Community College, and Beverly Hills School District in addition to the Los Angeles Unified School District. I now need only four classes to finish my Master's. If I receive the scholarship from Astellas, I will use this money to pay for my credits to finish my Master's then apply to PhD programs in Linguistics at UCLA and USC in the Fall. My ultimate goal is to become a professor and teach students how people learn new languages.

Finishing first at the US Transplant Games may have given me a momentary sense of satisfaction, but its effect has been greater. I now study and train harder in order to give to others and be a golden example of transplantation. In August 2009, I continue my quest for satisfaction as I compete in the World Transplant Games and represent my parents, doctors, and people who develop the medications.

Brianne Catarozoli, 19
Liver recipient
Eagle, WI

Astellas Transplant Scholars Award Essay

Throughout my life, I never had any serious health problems and would never have thought I would need a liver transplant at the age of nineteen. However, in March of 2009, in a matter of weeks, I went from a happy, healthy college student and athlete to a gravely ill girl.

My symptoms began with fatigue, but being a busy teenager I attributed it to the stress of college exams. Within a couple weeks my symptoms increased to joint pain, nausea and jaundice. A trip to the doctor revealed slightly elevated liver enzymes. The doctor thought perhaps I had hepatitis A and with rest, I would get better. Within days my symptoms escalated and it was clear there was something very wrong. I was admitted to Waukesha Memorial hospital on March 30th and after numerous tests the doctors believed they had a diagnosis.

On March 31, the gastroenterologist informed us of the news that would change my life forever. He said he believed I had Wilson's disease, a rare genetic disease that caused my liver to accumulate toxic amounts of copper. He said I was in acute liver failure and was in desperate need of a liver transplant. I would need to be transported to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee as soon as possible. After being admitted to the ICU, I was placed as "Status 1" on the transplant list. My condition deteriorated so quickly my family could hardly fathom what was happening. My parents were so overwhelmed.

With medical support I clung to life. All the while, my family prayed for a miracle. On April 7th, our prayers were answered. I received the gift of life. I knew that to get this gift another family had to make a very difficult decision. My family and I are forever grateful to them. At that moment, their selfless decision saved my life.

Within 48 hours of surgery, I was on my laptop updating my friends and Facebook. I was determined to make a quick recovery and make the most of my second chance at life. In two months, I was back to running and finishing my school work so I wouldn't lose my place on the Dean's list.

Everyday I think of my donor and his family. Their generous gift has given me the opportunity to fulfill my dreams of instilling a love of learning in the lives of children. Since I was a young child, I have always wanted to be a teacher. I came very close to losing that dream and now that I have a second chance, I am more determined than ever to pursue my goal. Before this happened, I always believed in organ donation, but now I truly realize how important it is. As a teaching professional I plan to share my story and educate families on the importance of organ donation. I hope by sharing my personal story I will inspire others to give the best gift they can ever give…the gift of life.

Jessica Chipkin, 26
Liver recipient
Kinnelon, NJ

Astellas Transplant Scholars Award Essay

For 21 years I unknowingly lived with a disease that was slowly destroying my body, starting with my liver. It went undetected medically but I always felt an indescribable emptiness, which I easily overlooked. In medical terms, this disease's purpose was to end my life. In my terms, this disease was meant to give a purpose to my life.

At the beginning of the summer of 2005, right before my 22nd birthday, my body gave in. I collapsed in my home in northern New Jersey. Dozens of doctors, countless medical exams, and four hospitals later I found myself at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia. I was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder known as Wilson's Disease. I had gone into acute liver failure, and my only chance of survival was a new liver.

I waited for what seemed like the unimaginable. Hours felt like days, days like weeks, and weeks like years. Fear of the unknown hovered over my ICU bed, yet I continued to fight. For nine days, I waited for my liver transplant as a "status one" in the NY region. It not only cured my disease and saved my life, but reinvigorated the person I was meant to be. As I physically recovered, I started to understand myself mentally for the first time. Life was starting to make sense, and I grew to love the person I was becoming.

That summer was just the beginning of my journey. I shocked all of my doctors and returned to college in record-breaking time to complete my final year of undergraduate studies. I was determined to not only resume my life, but to be successful in every sense of the word.

I landed two wonderful positions in advertising, followed by two not-so-wonderful layoffs. At first the layoffs were difficult to understand. Everything I had worked so hard for seemed to have just crumbled in front of my very own face. I now look at both layoffs as little blessings.

Since the summer of 2005, I have become extremely involved in Columbia's liver transplant program. When I lost my advertising positions, I gained more time to volunteer. Working alongside the liver transplant social workers, I have become a mentor to patients awaiting a liver transplant by educating them about the transplant process and experience. I also enjoy connecting to patients fresh out of transplant. I find is truly amazing that no matter what age or walk of life one comes from, there is a very unique connection transplant recipients have. To witness someone experiencing that connection for the first time is priceless.

My involvement with the pre and post liver transplant community is heightened by the American Liver Foundation's annual Liver Life Walk. Since my transplant I have raised money and attended the NYC walk in support of the ALF's ambitions. For the past two years I have been awarded the role of captain of NYPH's "Team Gratitude," consisting of almost 200 walkers. At this year's walk in June, we raised over $30,000 for the ALF.

In honor of the ALF's Liver Life Challenge, I will be running my first 26.2 mile marathon this November. The daily training for this is purely motivated by my life experiences, my commitment to put a positive face to transplantation, as well as my desire to "give back" to the very organizations that once saved my life.

At NYPH, Cornell, I have volunteered in the neurosurgery department, where my interest in working with different populations could be explored. At the New York Organ Donor Network, I have been a volunteer and speak at local high schools, which has been an amazing experience. I find speaking to adolescents about organ donation to be extremely impactful—to the point where there is a desperate need for more education at this level.

Everything I have been through in my life and everything I have been involved with led me to the decision to return to school and become a social worker. I can never get enough of working with people, the very nature of the profession.

Working towards my master of social work degree has been neither shocking nor intimidating to me. It is, simply put, perfect. I am thrilled to be studying at The Hunter College School of Social Work. With one year under my belt and one to go, this potential scholarship will go towards my tuition expenses. This scholarship's intentions cannot come any closer to my own ambitions, and thus it is not just my tuition this scholarship would be contributing to; it is everything the degree will enable me to do in the future for the transplant community.

My liver transplant has truly turned out to be the best thing that has ever happened to me; it symbolizes how I have grown as a person. It has allowed me to open my eyes and walk through doors I might never have walked through. I've always had the same drive, qualities and characteristics to be successful; it just took something completely unexpected and life changing for me to know what to use them for.

Patrice Fisher, 29
Heart and kidney recipient
Southaven, MS

Astellas Transplant Scholars Award Essay

My organ transplants have changed my life completely. While awaiting a kidney and heart transplant, I never stopped reaching toward my goals. I'm a fulltime student at the University of Memphis, majoring in Political Science, mother of one, and volunteer talking with dialysis patients at my former center. Despite the tribulations I've faced and have already overcome, I still continue to strive to reach my goals. Before the transplants, I was scared that I wouldn't live to see my daughter grow up and become the young woman, I am inspiring her to become. I was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease and congestive heart failure, resulting from postpartum-cardiomyopathy. I went into cardiac arrest six months after I started hemodialysis. I've had two automatic internal cardiac devices. The first year on dialysis, my condition was so unstable that I couldn't be listed on the transplant list. The second year, I lost an extreme amount of weight, enrolled in college, and was placed on the kidney transplant list. A couple of months later, I was told that eventually I would have to receive a heart transplant, but this wouldn't happen until my condition worsened. Three years later my condition worsened. I was placed on the heart transplant list January 29, 2008. Three months later my condition went from bad to extremely bad and I was upgraded. September 15, 2009, my doctor notified me that there is a possible match, and to get to Nashville soon, but safely. The kidney and heart matched. Monday the heart transplant took place. On Tuesday twenty fours after the heart transplant took place I received my kidney. I can't put into words how I felt once I became fully aware that my prayers had been answered. No more dialysis every night, no more telling my daughter I can't do fun things with her, because I can't drive. No more worrying if she or my mom would come in to wake me and I wouldn't wake up. This scholarship will help me become the mother and the professional I long to become. I am meant to be. The ability to provide for my daughter and me is all I want. My transplants and this scholarship will give me the tools to do so. I will graduate with my political science degree and immediately start nursing school for my B.S. in nursing which is a year program. My becoming a nurse will give me more in depth knowledge in understanding my condition. My goal is to become an Advanced Practice Nurse, specializing in cardiology nephrology, helping transplant patients before and after transplantation. It makes a difference when you can talk to some one who has actually gone through the things you are going through. To whom much is given much is expected. I have been given my life back and not only that; I have been given a chance to help others through my experiences.

Julie Hotze, 20
Liver recipient
Teutopolis, IL

Astellas Transplant Scholars Award Essay

Because of two families saying "yes" to organ donation, I received a second and third chance at life. I was born with biliary atresia; however, my complications were not apparent until I was four weeks old. After a twelve-month wait, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center performed my first transplant on June 29th, 1990. When part of the segmented organ did not continue to function, I received my second liver ten days later, on July 10th. Little did my family know that so much good would come from such difficult times.

My transplant experience gives me a positive outlook on life. I developed a clear sense of life and self-worth. I enjoy reciprocating the gifts of the donor families. Tutoring, teaching religion, and helping with my community's youth group are a few ways I donate my time. It is important to me to volunteer specifically for CCHMC as well. This is a challenge because of the four hour distance from my hometown. I have walked a 5K, donated over 25 handmade quilts to bring comfort to the hospitalized children, worked with Kindervelt, a non-profit organization directly affiliated with CCHMC, and sat at booths to spread the word of the revised Illinois law dealing with organ donation. Most recently, my transplant coordinator asked me to email a pre-transplant, teenage girl needing encouragement from someone who truly understands her everyday challenges. The privilege of being a role model for this girl is the most rewarding experience I have accomplished to date.

Through education, I am able to understand more fully how to achieve my personal goals for life. I have earned a Dean's List standing at my community college I attended for the past two years. I am now enrolled at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville majoring in Elementary Education with specialties in social science and math. My goal as a teacher is to inspire children to find a love for learning and a respect for people and the world around them. I hope to be a positive role model by motivating my students to find the importance of their own self-worth. Parallel to the idea of personal worth, students will also develop compassion for fellow human beings. Students understanding these goals will grow up to realize the importance of saying "yes" to organ donation. I am aware of the good that comes from a single person's ability to make a difference and hope to ripple this idea throughout my life.

My liver transplants have been positive experiences in my life. For the past twenty years, yearly evaluations and transplant picnics allowed me to stay in contact with my transplant team and families who have dealt with similar issues. Every morning, when I see my transplant scar, I am reminded of my wonderful past and how my complications enhance my life today. Like my scar, I hope to mark people with my compassion and love for life that will last a lifetime.

Douglas Lampert Jr., 19
Liver recipient
St. Louis, MO

Astellas Transplant Scholars Award Essay

Douglas Lampert Jr. My transplant is a pivotal aspect in my life since I received my new liver when I was just an infant on November 30, 1990. Since then, I have been blessed to be able to do so many amazing things in my life. In fact, I've dedicated my life to spreading the word of organ donation awareness and I am pursuing a degree in psychology with an emphasis on foreign languages to help further this cause. My commitment to organ donation began with the Transplant Olympics. These are Olympic-style games to show the positive aspects of transplantation both nationally and internationally. I first traveled to Japan in 2001 as the only child on team USA and from then on I have had a passion for traveling, languages, and foreign cultures. These games allow me to bring media attention to donation awareness as news crews, newspapers and other media sources like to hear the story of a successful transplant recipient. It was after traveling to Japan I began to get involved in languages and started taking language courses in French and German. I took four years of French and two years of German in high school. I have completed one year of German in college and will be continuing French starting next semester. My reasons for learning these languages and with them the culture, is twofold. First, I wish to meet as many people as possible because in my travels with organ donation awareness I have come to find that the better I understand the organ donation community, the better I can understand myself and with that, help to tell my story better. Second, would be actually being able to actually tell my story to people of a different country. I feel that this goes beyond someone just hearing a story from someone they see locally. In this growing world, I feel people want to be more involved in the world as a whole and to hear a story about transplantation from someone of a different country and culture really makes that person feel connected to the world and, furthermore, brings about a common harmony that will make them more open. I have declared a major in Psychology at Quincy University. There were many reasons I chose psychology but first and foremost is that I enjoy learning about the human mind and its inner workings. I also feel that I can use this in my future as I wish to take my degree and begin working in hospitals. My ultimate desire is to work with transplant families to better help them in any way that I can. I think that this is where I can best serve the transplant community with not only having the education but also having the experience of being a recipient and a donor family member, which I feel, can really help families one on one to help them through the process of organ donation in every stage.

009K-032-838 11/09