Multiple-organ transplant survivor Kristin Molini celebrates new year - and new lease on life

[depakid]

Kristin Molini, 22, rings in the New Year at Town Tavern in Greenwich Village.
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Just making it to 2010 was reason enough to celebrate for Kristin Molini. The miracle transplant recipient rang in the New Year Thursday night with a gang of friends in a Greenwich Village bar - and five new organs that saved her life.

"2010 will be a year of not sweating the little things in life," Molini vowed. "Just taking it moment by moment and embrace it - that's my New Year's resolution." The 22-year-old Brooklyn woman couldn't contain her excitement as the clock counted down toward a midnight Gatorade toast. "It' so exciting. I'm ecstatic," she said, surrounded by friends at the Town Tavern on W. Third St. "It's overwhelming, but it's a good feeling."

For the past few years, New Year's Eve meant lying on the couch in her family's Gravesend house, drained from the debilitating intestinal disease that nearly killed her.

This year, she planned to dance way past midnight in the magenta skirt and heels she picked out for the big night. "I had fun getting dressed. I had fun getting ready," she said. "We're just going to dance and have a good time."

Molini's brother, GregoryPaul, said he has to pinch himself to believe that his sister's transplant ordeal is finally over and she's on the path to full recovery. "She's been through so much and she doesn't even look sick," GregoryPaul Molini said. "It's unbelievable."

Kristin Molini suffered from a rare medical condition called intestinal dysmotility and needed a transplant of her liver, stomach, pancreas, and small and large intestines to survive.

She waited for years before getting the dramatic call last May that a match had been found in a 6-year-old Mississippi boy who died of a traumatic injury. Doctors performed a grueling and complex procedure in which all five organs from the single donor were transplanted into her body. Just 300 operations of the same kind have ever been performed worldwide. Her doctors say Molini is headed for a complete recovery, though she still has a tough road ahead.

"She recovered very fast," said Dr. Mercedes Martinez, a gastroenterologist and transplant hepatologist at New York Presbyterian Medical Center Columbia. "She can dance. She can walk. She's very active."

More: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/01/01/2010-01-01_multipleorgan_transplant_survivor_kristin_molini_celebrates_new_year__and_new_le.html#ixzz0bPq4MfKp

[kestrel91316]

1. Completely recovery is a bit of a stretch. All major organ transplant patients face

a lifetime of anti-rejection drugs, potential side effects, monitoring, and in her case, sudden deterioration and death.

But for now, life is good for her. Yay.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. She's a walking miracle...

I'm really happy for her...

Stories like hers give me hope that we'll be able to save lives like hers more often...

[Fridays Child]

3. And what a beautiful smile. She glows with health and gratitude.

I'm happy for her, too.

[depakid]

4. The smile says a lot....

A lot of which we all take for granted.

[kas125]

5. As someone who has had half my stomach and part of

my intestines removed and someone who knows firsthand the problems an altered digestive system can cause, I think it is amazing that she feels so well and I am SO happy for her. I hope that her life continues to get better and better!

[ismnotwasm]

6. Cool

(I see the dressing of a dialysis catheter peaking out of her dress) Transplant is my field, and I love success stories. My facility is about to start a small bowel tranplant program, which will bring new challenges, but new smiles I'm sure.

I'm very happy for this lovely lady

[Quantess]

7. That's such an uplifting story!