STANFORD, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Currently, more than 100,000 people in the United States are in need of an organ transplant.
It is considered lucky to be matched once, but we are about to meet a young man who received three organs at different times in his life.
Nineteen-year-old Joseph “Joe Jo” Sanchez Muñoz lights up every time he plays the guitar. He wrote a special song that tells the story of how he survived his three organ transplants.
“Music was my medicine. It got me through,” Jo Jo said.
Jo Jo was born with polycystic dysplastic kidney disease. This meant his kidneys were severely underdeveloped.
It was a devastating diagnosis in itself, but soon after Joe’s mother, Elena, was told that Joe also had liver cancer.
“My whole world was shattered because I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Elena said.
Jo Jo received a liver transplant when she was just 10 months old. The ensuing chemotherapy affected his kidneys, and Joe was eventually given a new kidney, but he defied the odds and remained healthy until last year.
This time, his heart was at risk as a result of his immune deficiency.
“Most programs would say the risks are too high and they won’t provide enough treatment for a young child to survive,” said Dr. says Dr. Michael Marr.
Dr. Marr and a team of cardiologists worked with liver and kidney specialists to develop a plan to save Jo Jo’s life.
“They gave him the third miracle of his life,” Elena said.
“He is currently in remission from his heart, liver and kidney disease and is doing very well,” said Dr. Ma.
“Thank you so much for helping me,” Jo Jo told Stanford University.
Jo Jo is so grateful for the care she received over the years at Stanford that she wants to pay it forward. He is currently considering entering the nursing field, just like his mother.
Contributors to this news report include: Jennifer Winter, producer. Joe Alexander Short, videographer. Roque Correa, editor.
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