Angela Montalvo was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of 15 after being rushed to the hospital by her mom with a fever of 106 degrees. They thought it was her appendix, but the medical team discovered it was Angela’s intestines about to rupture. She underwent the first of many surgeries — one that would save her life, but also marked the start of 30 years of recurring surgeries.
“I’ve had about two to three surgeries a year since then,” Angela says.
“It’s time she’s had a break,” her father and caregiver Rick Beirman adds.
Though Angela had managed her health for many years, in 2018 her journey to an intestinal transplant began with an ostomy procedure that failed. One week after the surgery, her medical team had to redo it and in the process Angela lost the majority of her small bowel.
“I had less than 40 centimeters of my small bowel” — the length of the small intestine is approximately 600 centimeters — “and so I was in the hospital about three weeks of every month for the last five years.”
During an ER visit, one of Angela’s doctors suggested that she consider transplantation. At the time, she didn’t even know an intestinal transplant was a possibility. Angela began doing her own research and discovered that the Cleveland Clinic had the best options for her.
However, Cleveland was far from her home outside of Dallas, Texas and the costs of transplant and traveling for care were considerable. Her husband Sergio, an aircraft mechanic, would have to continue to work while Angela, a mother of three (ages 15, 19, and 22), traveled for evaluation and treatment. Luckily, her dad, a former nurse, was able to be her caregiver.
During her initial visit in October of 2023 for testing, Angela and Rick stayed at a hotel. Compared to their stay at Transplant House, the hotel was far more expensive and without a kitchen, Angela wasn’t able to prepare her own meals. There were also far fewer opportunities for connections with other patients and caregivers — something she and her dad came to value after they arrived at Transplant House in July of 2024.
“It’s a lot better being here than at the hotel because you have all of the staff,” Rick says. “They’re so helpful and caring and thoughtful. And then being around the other people that are going through the same thing makes it easier.”
For Rick, having the weekly dinners and breakfasts was a welcome source of comfort and support while Angela was in and out of the hospital receiving her transplant and post-transplant care. He bonded with fellow patients and caregivers, celebrated his birthday with cupcakes brought by volunteers Joel and Rochelle Marx, and even earned the nickname of “Cookie Monster” for his love of desserts.
Since their arrival at the House in July, Angela has been in and out of the hospital, beginning with a month-long stay following her intestinal transplant. She has dealt with post-transplant rejection and a pericardial effusion, both of which required re-admittance to the hospital for treatment. As with many transplant journeys, Angela’s has been a rollercoaster; but she has also remained strong and determined in the face of these setbacks.
Part of her recovery has involved turning to a passion project: crocheting. Angela has been crocheting since she was 5 years old, when she saw a neighbor crocheting.
“We were sitting out on her front porch and I saw her doing it, so I asked her to teach me.”
Until recently, crocheting was a hobby, but after her sister-in-law asked Angela to make her a flower girl basket and a ring bearer pillow for her wedding, she began selling her creations on Facebook. What began as an interest when she was only 5 years old, became a business that allowed Angela to raise $20,000 to help cover the costs associated with her transplant. Since her arrival in Cleveland, she’s continued to crochet in her hospital room and her apartment at Transplant House.
“Don’t get discouraged with the process,” Angela says to others on the transplant journey. “Sometimes it can be a long process.”
And, Angela says, it’s important to have the love and support of family members like her dad and her husband.
“He’s been supportive, always taking care of me every step of the way. Anybody else would’ve run for the hills as soon as I found out what I had to deal with, but he knew it before we got married.”