A Heart for Healthcare: Transplant Leads Woman to New Career Path

Working in healthcare might seem like the last career choice for Salem resident Liz Barnett. After all, why would she want to work in a hospital when she has spent nearly her entire life in hospitals?

Shortly after being born, Liz was taken to St. Louis by ambulance.

“I had my first cardiac catheterization procedure when I was 6 hours old,” she said. “I was diagnosed with several congenital (from birth) heart defects, including having a single ventricle and a single atrium in my heart. I basically had half of a heart,” she said.

For 40 years, Liz dealt with these heart defects, until she finally had a heart and liver transplant 2 years ago. Ultimately, her countless hospital experiences would lead her to her current job in healthcare, taking her from patient to employee.

“I was actually born here at Phelps Health, and to work at the place where I was born is cool,” said Liz, who started working as a patient experience liaison in January.

Beating the Odds

At age 6, Liz had open heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Specifically, she underwent a Fontan procedure, which helps improve blood flow.

“Back in the early ‘80s, the Fontan procedure was designed to allow kids to see their teenage or early adult years, but it didn’t have a high long-term success rate,” she explained.

Liz beat the odds, though, and has lived to be much older than expected.

Her life has not come without some complications, however. When she was 9, Liz got her first pacemaker to help with an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). She would eventually need five pacemakers before her transplant.

“I’ve had everything from arrhythmia to fluid retention,” she said. “You name a heart symptom; I have probably dealt with it at some point in my life.”

Because of her heart conditions, some activities were off-limits.

“I never took gym classes, growing up. I was always smaller than the rest of my class, and I couldn’t run because I would get out of breath or turn blue,” Liz said.

Later in life, she was advised not to have children. “That was obviously a big life limitation,” she said.

Despite these setbacks, Liz feels she has lived a relatively normal life. After high school, she went to college, where she earned a master’s degree. She then worked in human resources (HR) for 15 years.

“I’ve had to take medications and get my pacemaker adjusted. I’ve had lots of follow-up care, but surprisingly, I didn’t have any other surgeries, which is very uncommon,” she said.

Time for a Transplant

In 2018, Liz ended up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where she was diagnosed with protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), which can be a complication of the Fontan procedure. Liz also had liver failure, which is common among people who have had this procedure.

Liz said her doctors briefly talked about reworking her Fontan but noted, “it wasn’t going to be a long-term solution.”

She also was placed on medications and underwent more cardiac cath procedures to strengthen her heart and increase her oxygen levels.

“Once I was diagnosed with PLE, the topic of a heart and liver transplant came up,” Liz said.

In order to receive the transplant, Liz had to make healthy lifestyle changes. Her PLE went into remission, and in 2021,
she went to Vanderbilt Health in Nashville, Tennessee, to await her transplant.

During those 4 years, Liz was placed on oxygen. She remembers struggling with everyday activities, like showering. “I was very sick,” she said.

Because she had certain antibodies, Liz was told that finding a matching donor may be hard. However, only 4 months passed from the time she was listed as needing a heart and liver to the transplant surgery on July 14, 2021.

A Life-Changing Experience

Getting a heart and liver transplant was an experience like no other, according to Liz.

“I never had a normal heart, so I didn’t know what I was missing,” she said.

“I climbed three flights of stairs when I was still in the hospital,” Liz remembered. “And now I climb stairs every day, rounding on Phelps Health patients.”

Liz’s recovery went smoothly, and thankfully, her body has not rejected the new organs. She spent about a month in the hospital after her transplant and only experienced a few mild complications. Earlier this spring, Liz did have to get a micro pacemaker due to a heart block (when electrical signals that control your heartbeat are disrupted).

"I am on the receiving end of the greatest act of love and selflessness that humanity has to offer."

For the better part of her life, the 43-year-old hasn’t been able to physically exert herself. She said she actually enjoyed cardiac rehab in Nashville, where she finally was able to exercise.

Liz is extremely thankful for her new organs and the donor’s family.

“I’m alive, and I have this beautiful new life because of someone else’s tragedy. I’m fully aware of the sacrifice, the decision and the challenge that my donor family had to make,” Liz said. “I tell people I am on the receiving end of the greatest act of love and selflessness that humanity has to offer – to give a piece of your loved one to a stranger and make that decision on the worst day of your life."

Liz encourages people who are not already organ donors to sign up at their local license office or online at organdonor.gov.

“It really is life-changing for the person receiving those organs and for their families,” she said.

“Every organ recipient I know lives every day, trying to take excellent care of their organs.”

Next Steps

After high school, Liz considered becoming a nurse but remembered spending most of her life in hospitals. “I missed a lot of kindergarten because I had heart surgery that year,” she said. “I thought, ‘Do I really want to work at a hospital?’”

However, after her transplant, her perspective changed.

“I was trying to figure out what my next steps were, and I saw the job application for a patient experience liaison at Phelps Health,” Liz said. She felt her HR and employee relations skills would be useful in this role.

“I love that we round on patients and make ourselves visible to them. This feels like the perfect fit for me,” she said. “It’s probably weird to say, but hospitals are my comfort zone. I spent more time in hospitals some years than I spent at my house.”

While Liz was initially scared to enter the workforce after not working for many years, she genuinely enjoys the interactions she has with Phelps Health patients and staff.

"All of us in Patient Experience are so passionate about helping patients,” said Liz. “I could not have asked for a better return to the workforce after being gone for so long.”