PHOENIX (Oct. 29, 2024) – Christine Sandell has been playing the piano for nearly 50 years, but her latest performance may have been one of her most special moments on the keys. Sandell played at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix on Monday to an audience of doctors and hospital staff in a heartwarming reunion to commemorate her one-year liver transplant anniversary.
In 2023, the Phoenix woman was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease that progressed to cirrhosis. Despite making dietary changes, Sandell’s condition did not improve so doctors placed her on the waiting list for a liver transplant.
Less than two weeks later, Sandell woke up with a new, healthy liver that would give her another chance at living a happy life. Despite a long and difficult recovery after the surgery, Sandell is living a normal lifestyle and said she feels like an entirely new person.
“Someone lost their life to give me life,” Sandell said. “They blessed me with life, and I’m so grateful. I’m happy that I’m alive to live the way I should — it’s awesome.”
On the anniversary Monday, Sandell returned to the hospital with some of the songs she plays at church, a testament to her positive spirit as a transplant recipient. She credits God and the entire staff at the Banner – University Medicine Transplant Institute for helping her to get to where she is today, saying that she thinks about life differently now because of her experience.
About Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix
Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix is a large teaching hospital that has provided medical care to Arizona and the Southwest since 1911. It is part of Banner – University Medicine, a premier academic medical network. The institution, which has trained thousands of doctors over decades as a teaching hospital, is the academic medical center for The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. The hospital, recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation’s best hospitals, specializes in heart care, cancer care, high-risk obstetrics, neurosciences, organ transplants, medical toxicology and emergency care, including a Level I trauma center. Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix is part of Banner Health, a nonprofit health care system with 33 hospitals in six states. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com/universityphoenix.
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