Multivisceral Transplant: Chris Beebe

A great team and a great family create Chris’ second chance.

Chris Beebe grew up in Shelby Township, Michigan. He graduated from Lutheran High North and attended the culinary program at Macomb Community College. Still an avid home-chef and baker, he chose not to pursue a career in food because, “I didn’t want to wreck my passion for it.” He then found his way to a career at Meijer, where he quickly moved up to a manager position. There, Chris was once assigned to the garden center. One peak season, Meijer assigned a cashier to the garden center, and that year her name was Beth. Chris was a little distracted on the job that season, and after a season in the garden center, classes next door to each other, and lots of conversations, Chris finally realized that Beth was just waiting to be asked out! They married and in the years that followed, they welcomed daughter Sarah, now 14 and son Noah, now six. Chris is a big fan of his kids, “Sarah was great… She’s so strong. The first time I was in the hospital, she was two, and even at that age she helped take care of her mom, helping around the house and just knowing daddy’s sick. When I went back for the transplant, she was 12, and just really stepped it up to make things easier on her mom.”

About ten years ago, Chris was dealing with chronic heartburn and indigestion. A local hospital emergency department decided an abdominal scan was in order and found a mass on Chris’ liver. Soon after, he found himself at another regional hospital where he was diagnosed with neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer and given medication and a year to live. Fortunately, that wasn’t good enough for Chris’ sister-in-law Meggan, a registered nurse who brought the situation to a colleague, who quickly sent Chris on to the gastrointestinal team at Henry Ford Health. Chris underwent a Whipple procedure, a complex surgery during which parts of the pancreas and bile duct are removed, along with the duodenum, the gallbladder and nearby lymph nodes. Due the extent of Chris’ cancer, some was left behind and treated with chemotherapy.

Nine years later, Chris’ health began to fail again, and his cancer was back in the form of multiple masses, and a multivisceral transplant was the recommendation. He went through the transplant evaluation process of testing and examinations by providers in a variety of specialties to insure he was otherwise strong enough to handle the transplant surgery. Just 40 days later, on March 13, 2020, Chris got the call. Shunji Nagai, M.D., performed his multivisceral transplant that day.

That was also the beginning of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. When Chris arrived at Henry Ford Hospital, everything was normal. Days later, however, “I woke up in a different world. I didn’t know what was going on… I wasn’t allowed any visitors… you can’t risk getting anything because you don’t have an immune system. I was in the hospital 45 days, and not a single visitor was allowed.” Chris talked with family via FaceTime and appreciated the close relationships he formed with the nursing staff during that time.

Six months later, it was back to Henry Ford Hospital for ileostomy reversal, and the procedures were complete. Today, Chris continues to work with the transplant team to maintain his good health, “Nemie Beltran, R.N., and Syed-Mohammed Jafri, M.D., gave me everything I needed to make it easy. From getting blood work done, to responding to changes in my condition. I couldn’t have asked for a better team… They’re great.”

Chris is currently catching up on family time lost while working retail. “It’s nice not to miss holidays… Being happy, getting to spend time with the family is an incredible gift. If I hadn’t gotten sick, I’d still be working 50 hours a week, working every weekend…” Chris muses, “It’s kind of a blessing in disguise!”

Asked what’s next, Chris currently just wants to invest in family and friends. But someday he dreams of opening a coffee shop, where could serve people coffee and sell his home-made baked goods.

Asked what he’d tell someone else facing medical challenges like those he conquered with the help of the Henry Ford Transplant team, Chris says, “I’m always open to discuss and support anyone going thought the transplant journey. They can always reach me through Nemie Beltran and the Henry Ford team. I made it through because of my faith and my family. Trust in God and know that you’ll only feel this way for a short time. You’ll get through it, and you’ll feel great in the end.”