When Will Gordon, 70, returned to visit the Vanderbilt University Hospital (VUH) staff members that saved his life during his recovery from not one but two liver transplants, he gave both God and his expansive medical team thanks.
“Without God’s faithfulness, I couldn’t have made it through,” he said. “I felt his touch more than once. And the team here is just out of this world. The doctors and nurses were always up front about everything that was going on.
“And the extended care I received from physical therapy, occupational therapy, the nurses and doctors — just constantly checking on me and making sure I was progressing correctly — was incredible. There are just so many people to thank.”
Gordon and other former patients who recovered from serious illness and life-preserving surgeries in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at VUH returned to the Nashville hospital for a “Great Saves” event to share health updates and their gratitude with the people they credit with saving their lives.
The patients, including Gordon, Kyle Mullicane, Kim Gilbert and Mike Renner, were part of a panel discussion in front of a roomful of medical providers. They shared memories from their hospitalizations, what worked best and suggestions for possible care enhancements.
Martin Montenovo, MD, or “Dr. Martin” as he asks patients to call him, was especially moved to see how well Gordon was doing. Montenovo is chief of the Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, surgical director of the Adult Liver Transplant Program, and surgical director of the Combined Heart-Liver Transplant Program at Vanderbilt Health.
Most importantly for Gordon, Montenovo is the surgeon who performed his second liver transplant surgery, working in tandem with a large team of VUH medical specialists, including anesthesiologists, CRNAs, nurses and others.
“I tell my patients that, yes, I’m their surgeon, but there are thousands here working behind the scenes for them,” Montenovo said. “That’s one beauty of the Medical Center — the great collaborative relationships, with everyone pulling in the same direction.
“Now, seeing these patients six, seven, eight months out — even a year or two out — I have to be honest and admit I cannot even recognize them down the hallway. It’s comforting to my heart to see them, knowing how sick they were, and now how well they are doing. It’s just amazing.”
In July 2019, Kyle Mullicane was admitted to VUH with acute necrotizing pancreatitis, a life-threatening condition in which part of the pancreas dies. His treatment was complicated by respiratory failure requiring intubation and abdominal compartment syndrome, a critical condition when abdominal bleeding or swelling causes extreme pressure that affects organ function.
After an emergency procedure to open his abdomen to relieve the pressure, Mullicane was put on continuous dialysis to treat hyperkalemia (elevated potassium) and kidney failure. He suffered seizures, developed delirium and required constant monitoring. Doctors performed five surgeries in nine days to save his life.
Nursing staff, respiratory therapists and physical therapists worked with Mullicane daily as his body began to recover to improve his mobility and to help him clear his lungs. He was transferred to Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital after spending nearly a month in the SICU.
“I haven’t met everyone up here on the panel, but I know we all already have something in common, and that’s that nothing gets your head wrapped around your own mortality quite like waking up intubated, restrained, scared and vulnerable, and nobody can really tell you if you’re going to live,” Mullicane said.
“And when you ask that question, and you see the look on their face before they even say anything, you know everything. There were some dark times there, and I could not have made it out without my care team, my wife and family. I had a lot of people advocating for me, and that’s the only reason I’m here.”
Mullicane credited every member of his care team including the Environmental Services technicians who kept his hospital room spotless to safeguard him from infection, especially when he was most vulnerable.
Mullicane’s experience was so life changing that after his recovery he switched careers from sales to working as an EMT in Rutherford County, Tennessee, so he could be more of service to others. He also works part time as a LifeFlight ground crew member, transporting critically ill or injured patients to VUH for lifesaving care.
Gilbert was hospitalized in February 2024 and was on continuous dialysis while she anxiously awaited a liver transplant. During her wait, she was taken to interventional radiology for a procedure. She wrote “VIP” in bold letters on a sheet of paper she held up in her wheelchair, a humorous way to remind everyone that she is an RN working in radiology at VUH.
“I wanted them to know who they were taking care of,” she laughed.
Gilbert’s husband Timothy joined her on the panel, and told the audience it was the little things that showed him the staff was caring for her “the way he wanted to take care of her” that reassured him.
“Without us asking, a nurse came in, washed her hair and braided it,” he said. “That meant a lot, just that little thing. The time and care you all give sometimes is unappreciated. You’re busy; you have a lot of hectic things going on. For me, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you, because she’s here today.”
Renner was admitted to the SICU in mid-December 2013, also with acute necrotizing pancreatitis. His condition required multiple abdominal drains and returns to the operating room. His recovery was complicated by multiple blood clots and abdominal sepsis. After spending more than a month in the SICU, working with nurses and physical therapists to regain his strength, he was discharged to Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital for continued therapy.
“When we got here, I felt like I was on a TV program,” said Renner’s wife, Sandy. “It was amazing how everybody just took care of me and him. And one thing I really appreciated is every morning, the doctors would all get outside the door and invite me out to see the next plan.”
All the patients on the panel and their family members agreed that regular communication from the medical team during morning rounds was both comforting and welcome, as their cases were complex, and complications were many. And that they appreciated the nurses explaining things throughout the day when they had questions.
Emily Lizar, RN, who works in the SICU, said the space in between the critical episodes when she gets to know patients and their families better is what she enjoys most about her job.
“Having that time to connect with the patients and with the families, when we’re not so in the trenches saving their lives — that’s my favorite part,” she said.
Evan Pendygraft, OTD, OTR/L, an occupational therapist who works in the SICU, took care of both Gordon and Mullicane during their long hospitalizations.
“These are some of our sickest folks on the SICU, and we get to spend a lot of meaningful time with them on the unit to help them accomplish their functional goals, so to see them like this is fantastic,” he said. “I really hope that they keep this up. It certainly helps to fill our cup, getting to see these people live their lives again.”
When the patients were asked what their medical providers could do better, Mullicane said he wished he had known how hard the healing journey after he returned home could be.
“I thought the hospital was the hard part, but it turns out surviving was the easy part,” he said. “The real hard part starts at home, because there’s a huge difference between surviving and healing. I give credit to Dr. Wes Ely and Dr. Pratik [Pandharipande] and the CIBS [Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship] Center. They’re leading the world in studies on ICU delirium and ICU survival and PTSD. And it was the PTSD that really snuck up on me.”
SICU Nurse Manager Tanna Walker, MSHA, RN, NE-BC, and Maggie Sweet, RN, organized the Great Saves event, with assistance from their colleagues.
