ST. LOUIS (AP) - Seventeen months after becoming the first person in Missouri to receive a combination heart and kidney transplant, Jonathan Sadowski has been reunited with the doctors and nurses at Barnes-Jewish Hospital who cared for him.
The 21-year-old O'Fallon man gathered Tuesday with the ICU staff at the St. Louis hospital in an emotional meeting. He gave the staff a painting of a heart made by his uncle.
Sadowski had a heart transplant soon after birth, but his heart and kidneys failed about two years ago, requiring the transplant in June 2010.
Now 50 pounds heavier, Sadowski is healthy, even playing hockey. He says he wanted to return to thank the hospital and show doctors and nurses the results of their hard work.