02-05-2025
Longtime Wichita chef receives life-saving liver transplant
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The man who helped inspire menus at Carlos O'Kelly's and Red Beans To-Go, Rick Jeffrey, has been in a desperate search for a life-saving liver transplant for years. It's a story we first brought to you back in December.
Just days ago, he got a new liver.
He spoke to KSN's Derek Lytle from his hospital bed and called it a second shot at life.
This was a three-year battle for Jeffrey. It saw him fighting between the lines of being healthy enough to survive transplant surgery, and bad enough to be on the transplant list. He was placed back last week, and just two days later, after months in the ICU, doctors burst through the doors with a question for Rick.
'Walking into my hospital room, and saying we've got a liver we want to offer you, what do you think, and I say, are you crazy, yeah, let's go, let's rock,' Jeffrey said.
A long stay at the University of Kansas Health System, and now an answer. Jeffrey had been wanting to give for years, as he battled Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, not knowing if he'd ever find an organ donor.
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'So grateful for everything that's happened. A whole different person, it just felt so different, so exciting, and beside myself,' Jeffrey said.
His wish was to survive and watch his family grow up, something he is now realizing can be a reality.
'I want to concentrate on my grandsons, being able to take them fishing, hunting, teach them how to cook. They want to learn. My grandson already has a chef's costume. He wants to be like me. You can imagine how proud that makes me feel,' said Jeffrey.
Beyond thankful to his organ donor and their family.
He hopes his battle encourages others to continue their fight.
'You've got to hang with it, keep your prayers in, keep your family praying, and be thankful for all that you get,' Jeffrey said.
Rick wants the message echoed. He encourages people to sign up to become organ donors.
Once he returns home, he said, he will definitely throw a party, cooking the food he loves, once again.
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