From transplant patient to transplant nurse

By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

Five years ago, Jess Gerhardt was in a hospital bed at IU Health University Hospital, 11 days away from a liver transplant.

Months before that, she was desperately ill with COVID-19, intubated in the ICU, while her body and her care team fought off the pneumonia and sepsis that was threatening to shut down her organs.

Today, the 40-year-old is in her second year as a nurse on the CVICU at Riley Hospital for Children.

It’s been a wild five-plus years for Gerhardt, who previously worked in communications and public relations. Going back to school to earn a second degree in nursing is directly related to the care she received during her health crises, she said.

“The nurses at University are why I am a nurse now,” she said. “They are so incredible, so smart and so talented that I was inspired to change careers.”

Gerhardt, who grew up in Carmel and wrote for the award-winning Carmel High School newspaper, once dreamed of becoming a romance novelist but pivoted to a career in communications and event planning.

Nursing was not on her radar.

In November 2020, she contracted COVID and was hospitalized for several weeks. In January, she was back in the hospital after multiple setbacks, including pneumonia, sepsis and liver and kidney failure, the latter requiring dialysis.

When it became clear that she would need a liver transplant, she was transferred to University from IU Health North Hospital, where she recovered enough to become eligible for transplant.

“I was so sick at the time they were concerned I might not even make it through the surgery,” she said.

After weeks of treatment until her condition stabilized, Gerhardt was listed for transplant and was matched with a liver just two days later. Methodist transplant surgeon Dr. Chandrashekhar Kubal performed the surgery.

Gerhardt, whose two siblings passed away several years ago, was determined to make the most of this second chance.

“I remember telling Dr. Kubal, ‘If you give me the organ, I will do the rest.’”

Oddly enough, Gerhardt said, the transplant was the easy part, even though it was her first-ever surgery. Quite a first.

“Go big or go home,” she joked.

Recovery was challenging due to multiple infections not related to the organ, but difficult nonetheless. She lost 100 pounds over the course of her illness and recovery and had to relearn how to sit up, stand and walk during a monthlong stay at a rehab hospital.

Upon discharge from rehab, she stayed with her parents while she continued her recovery, and it was during that time that the idea of changing careers began to percolate.

She felt pulled to move into a field where she could have more impact. It was an excellent motivator to continue the work it would take to heal.

In early 2022, she went back to school to take some pre-requisite courses before enrolling in IU’s accelerated nursing program, completing her degree in 2024.

“It’s difficult to go back to school in your 30s, but I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to do so because I was saved by my healthcare team.”

While in school, she did one of her clinical rotations on the same unit at University where she was treated, working alongside some of her transplant nurses.

“It feels like my entire life has been leading up to this moment,” she said. “It feels beyond full circle.”

She also spent two days during clinicals with the wound care team at Riley, visiting several units.

“It was my first experience with pediatrics and Riley, and I fell in love with it during those two days.”

When a tech position opened on 3W, she applied during nursing school, and that’s when she knew Riley was it for her, particularly the CVICU.

“I wanted to go into an area that had transplant, and I get that in the Heart Center,” she said. “It’s really important for me to be an encouragement for families to show that you can have a full, healthy life after transplant.”

Haley Engwer, whose 6-month-old son Noah, is waiting for a heart transplant in the CVICU, sees that up close.

"We love Jess," she said. "She goes above and beyond for Noah and us. She advocates constantly for what she believes is best for Noah. She is literally the best human ever."

Tricia Harris, Gerhardt’s post liver transplant coordinator, counts Gerhardt among her favorite patients.

“She uses her humor to deal with anything and everything that comes her way.”

Although she had multiple procedures after transplant due to unrelated complications, she has done extremely well, Harris said.

“I think one of the reasons she did so well after the transplant and even still today is because of her outlook on life and positive attitude. She always finds a way to turn something that could be depressing or frustrating into a laughable/shake-it-off moment. I appreciate that about her very much.”

That attitude, along with her experience as a transplant patient and the compassion she brings to her job, all go a long way toward making her a better nurse, Harris said.

Her communication skills come in handy, too, Gerhardt said, whether it’s talking to doctors, other nurses, parents or patients.

“I get to be the best patient advocate. That’s what I wanted – to emulate the strong patient advocacy I received from my nurses,” she said.

“I’ve taken a lifechanging and terrifying experience and turned it into something I can use to help patients.”

Photos submitted and by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org