SAN ANTONIO – Adrian Lozano is full of life and gratitude these days after coming so close to dying last year.
In the summer of 2023, Lozano was diagnosed with acute alcohol hepatitis.
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“I literally was yellow. And then I started turning gray, like it was crazy,” he recalled.
Lozano had been a heavy weight-lifting enthusiast. But his wife noticed he was looking sickly.
“I started to lose weight, and it wasn’t good weight. It was weight that was clearly muscle weight,” he said.
A trip to the emergency room saved his life when the staff quickly noticed his liver was failing.
“My Model for End Stage Liver Disease, or MELD, score was a 40, and they stop counting at 40. That’s the highest, and the result of dying is pretty quickly,” he said.
Within 10 days, Methodist Hospital Specialty and Transplant staff found him a match.
“A lot of people are on the waitlist for up to two, three years, maybe longer. But I was fortunate to get a transplant in 10 days,” Lozano said.
He said his outlook on life changed the minute he woke up from his transplant. At the end of May, he celebrated his 50th birthday.
“I don’t take it for granted. Every day is truly a gift,” Lozano said.
He was given more time to make more memories, like when he met Spurs icon Sean Elliot.
“That was really cool because I was there when he hit the 1999 Memorial Day miracle, and it was my birthday, so it was cool. He signed the ball for me, and, yeah, we talked a little bit about being both recipients,” he said.
Ten thousand Texans are waiting for a donor. Donate Life Texas has information on how to sign up to save someone’s life. Click here to learn more.