Fort Myers man receives life-saving kidney-liver transplants just 48 hours after listing at Miami Transplant Institute
By: Krysten Brenlla
Jaundice, weight gain, swelling, and immobility were the symptoms Christopher Downing, 58, was experiencing just five years ago when he was diagnosed with renal and liver failure.
Yet, when the Fort Myers native turned to hospitals in southwest Florida for help, Downing never imagined they’d say, “You’re not sick enough for a transplant.”
“I was placed in a long-term intensive care unit (ICU), and I was on dialysis. Doctors were telling my family to prepare for my funeral,” Downing said.
During one challenging night in the ICU, he felt a tug.
“I don’t know if it was a dream or divine intervention, but something told me to go to Jackson. I looked at the nurse who cared for me at the ICU and told her, ‘I want to go to Miami for another opinion.’ I couldn’t even walk at that time, but I was getting out of there.”
After several calls, Downing was referred to the Miami Transplant Institute (MTI), an affiliation between Jackson Health System and UHealth – University of Miami Health System. To get to Miami safely, he needed a nurse and doctor to transport him via ambulance.
Upon arrival, he was admitted to the transplant floor at Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment. At the hospital, MTI’s multidisciplinary team of doctors assessed him for a potential simultaneous liver-kidney transplant.
“When we first saw Christopher, his condition was so severe that it was likely he wouldn’t have survived the next three months without a liver transplant, let alone the next three weeks. He was dying,” said Eric F. Martin, MD, medical director of liver transplantation at MTI. “It became clear that the only chance for survival was a simultaneous liver-kidney transplant.”
After several tests, MTI’s team decided he was eligible for both procedures. On Friday, August 16, 2019, he was placed on MTI’s transplant list.
Within 48 hours, Downing went from hearing he was eligible for transplantation to finding a match.
“I couldn’t even describe what I felt in that moment,” he said.
On Monday, August 19, 2019, Downing underwent the first procedure, the liver transplant, led by Akin Tekin, MD, an abdominal transplant surgeon at MTI.
The team used a technique that left his surgical site accessible after the procedure, which allowed them to confirm his new liver was functioning properly. The next day, Downing underwent the kidney transplant.
“Before my transplants, I was so bloated and yellow – I looked dead,” he said. “But when I woke up after both procedures – even with every hose running in and out of me, and still on a ventilator – my color was back. It was a miracle.”
After spending a month at Jackson Memorial recovering and undergoing rehabilitation therapy, Downing was discharged home to Fort Myers. Within six weeks, he went back to work. But just months later, the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
Despite the challenges that came, Downing stayed healthy.
“Five years later, Christopher’s life has transformed. You would never know by looking at him that he underwent a simultaneous liver-kidney transplant,” Dr. Martin said. “He’s shown no signs of rejection, with pristine liver function tests.”
Today, Downing’s back at work as the general manager of a Lexus/Acura car dealership in Fort Myers, volunteers for his county’s Habitat for Humanity program, and is excited to see his daughter start law school in New York City this year.
He’s grateful to everyone who had a hand in giving him a second chance at life.
“When you go through a near-death experience, you learn to slow down a little bit – although my family will tell you I didn’t slow down,” Downing said. “I say thank you to God, my loved ones, the donor family, and Jackson – without them, I would not be here.”
Eric Martin, MD
Gastroenterology, Internal Medicine, Transplant Hepatology
Akin Tekin, MD
General Surgery, Transplant Surgery