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Jan E. Freebie:
My name is Jan E. Freebie. I had my liver transplant on August 20, 2017.
We went to the ER, and the doctor walked in and said I had cirrhosis of the liver. In the first part of 2017, I finally got put on the transplant list.
My nurse, Jennifer, in the paracentesis department, probably gave me more hope than anybody. After I got my transplant, she came down to recovery and gave me this. She’s got one, and I’ve got one. That’s my hope. That’s my charm. That’s my lady that brought me through right there.
The Transplant Games are a mixture of about 20 different events that transplant recipients of all kinds can participate in—from someone in a wheelchair, to a walker, to kids, to older adults with transplants.
There’s everything from track and field to a 5K run or walk, swimming, Texas Hold’em, trivia, ballroom dancing—just about anything.
Most everybody ends up in tears because they’re so grateful to the donor families, whose loved ones thought enough to give the gift of life in their death. It’s a big deal. We celebrate life in this way, and the transplant community that created this is just awesome.
In 2024, I didn’t get to play pickleball, but I was registered for cornhole—the bag toss game—and we ended up winning the gold medal.
Dr. Mauricio Garcia
What was very impactful for me was seeing him win his medal and the pride he gets from doing all of this—the opportunity we gave him and how his life truly changed after his liver transplant. He has become a major advocate for our program.
He’s a great example of what a liver transplant can do for patients. It’s not just a lifesaving procedure—it’s a life-changing procedure, if you take the opportunity and honor the gift that someone else has given you.
Jan E. Freebie:
UAMS is my second home. They’ve saved my life—more than once.
