In 2017, Bradley Ogline, now a certified nurse anesthetist at UPMC, was a typical healthy 26-year-old enrolled in graduate nursing school. But Bradley’s life changed when one morning, she suddenly began to vomit.
Soon after, the vomiting turned into blood, followed by severe abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, and growing disorientation. Recognizing the severity of her symptoms, she called 911.
At the hospital, imaging showed blood clots blocking blood flow to her small intestine. Later that day, Bradley was taken to the operating room for emergency surgery.
During the procedure, surgeons removed most of her small intestine, leaving 10 centimeters intact. To confirm their next steps, the surgical team contacted Ruy Cruz, MD, the director of the UPMC Gastrointestinal Rehabilitation and Transplant Program.
Dr. Cruz instructed the team to arrange for Bradley’s transfer to UPMC Montefiore for specialized care and additional surgery.
Life After Surgery
The weeks after surgery were physically and emotionally challenging. Once fiercely independent, Bradley now needed assistance with basic tasks. Despite her vulnerability, her support system remained strong, including her boyfriend, who visited frequently.
Over the next six months, Bradley’s main goal was to focus on physical recovery and intestinal rest. During that time, she was completely dependent on total parenteral nutrition (TPN), a method of providing nutrition to someone with digestive system complications. After six months of recovery, her care team would work on getting her onto the intestinal transplant waiting list.
Once she was discharged from the hospital, Bradley began to adjust to life while dependent on TPN. Her goal was to get back to school as soon as she could.
Adjusting to life came with challenges, like showering with a catheter line in her upper arm and learning to use the TPN pump. With help from her transplant coordinator and family, she resumed her studies remotely six weeks after her surgery. Not long after, she returned to clinical rotations.
Over the next few months, Bradley settled into a routine of labs, classes, clinicals, appointments, and nightly TPN infusions. Planning became essential. Even attending a nearby conference required coordination of lab draws, TPN delivery, hotel refrigeration, and transplant team notification. This loss of independence became a key motivator in her decision to pursue an intestinal transplant.
Roughly nine months into TPN, she developed her first catheter-related bloodstream infection, followed by a fungal infection a month later.
“It was so disappointing," Bradley says. "These sorts of things are inevitable, but I felt like a bad patient, and I was studying to be a nurse, so I felt like a bad nurse, too.”
These setbacks left her frustrated and eager to move forward with a transplant.
A Life-Changing Transplant
Ten months after her initial surgery, Bradley completed the final steps in the transplant evaluation process and was listed on the waiting list.
Just two months later, she was notified that an organ was available. Unfortunately, testing showed that the organ was unsuitable for Bradley.
Between that first call and her eventual transplant, she experienced several major life milestones. She became engaged, graduated from nursing school, and began working.
On her second day of work, she received a call letting her know a donor organ had become available. However, she declined due to concerns about donor risk factors previously discussed with her care team.
On June 11, 2019, she received another call. This time, the organ was viable. Accompanied by her family, she underwent a successful intestinal transplant surgery at UPMC Montefiore.
“After my transplant surgery, I felt great,” Bradley remembers. “I wasn’t in any pain and was up and walking that same day. I thought I would be in much more pain and wouldn’t be able to do anything. I felt so relieved.”
Bradley began the long process of adjusting to posttransplant life. She had to learn how to manage her immunosuppressive medications, monitor for signs of organ rejection, and learn to navigate the new medical, emotional, and physical aspects of her new life.
She remained hospitalized for three weeks, during which time she underwent frequent testing to monitor her new organ. Eventually, she began eating again. Three months after her transplant surgery, she no longer needed TPN.
The day her catheter was removed, she celebrated with something she hadn’t done freely in over a year: a long, catheter-free shower.
Several months later, she returned to work, and at seven months posttransplant, her ileostomy was reversed. She had no signs of rejection, and her quality of life was what she had been hoping for. She was working at a job she loved, was getting married, and could go to dinner with her friends.
A year after her transplant, she married her husband, Bret. His patience and support throughout her illness had been constant.
Feeling Thankful
Today, Bradley works full-time without restrictions. Her posttransplant life involves a schedule of monthly medical appointments, annual screenings, and dietary restrictions. She can’t eat raw or high-risk foods and can't have grapefruit or pomegranate due to her antirejection medications.
“Overall, I feel very fortunate,” Bradley says. “My transplant team and family have been here for me every step of the way.”
Bradley celebrated her sixth transplant anniversary in June 2025.
Bradley’s treatment and results may not be representative of all similar cases.
