A Journey of Recovery: Lacy Cornelius Boyd’s Story

On March 19, 2024, Lacy Cornelius Boyd found herself caught up in an unexpected turn of events. While on a family road trip to the Grand Canyon with her husband and their six-year-old daughter, they planned a stop at McDonald’s before heading back to Oklahoma.

But then things took a drastic turn when their car hit a patch of black ice.

“We were spinning. My husband lost control and collided with another car,” Boyd recalled. Everything became a blur after that.

Her daughter suffered a broken arm, and although her husband and the other driver were unharmed, Boyd faced severe injuries herself. She had broken bones in her neck and ribs, a collapsed lung, and serious damage to her intestines, leading to six surgeries in just five days.

As Boyd described, the condition of her intestines deteriorated, primarily due to a seatbelt that had been too tight. “Every time they tried to save my intestines, they just kept dying from lack of blood flow,” she said. “I was told most people have around 35 feet of small intestine, but I was left with only about 35 inches.”

Life After the Accident

After spending a month in the hospital, Boyd was discharged with a diagnosis of short bowel syndrome. She had an ileostomy bag attached to collect waste, as her remaining intestines struggled to absorb nutrients. This meant she relied on 12 hours of IV nutrition daily. Her daughter was frightened by the tubes and medical equipment that were now part of their lives. Boyd herself was often weak, dehydrated, and hesitant to leave home.

“Dining out was a challenge. I’d often find myself rushing to the restroom multiple times, which was embarrassing,” she said. “I felt like everyone around me was enjoying life while I was just… going through the motions.”

With her background in healthcare, Boyd regularly consulted doctors to explore ways to improve her quality of life, but no one had viable solutions. Eventually, she followed a tip from a surgeon who had suggested her sister look into the Cleveland Clinic.

In November 2024, Boyd reached out to the hospital system and met with surgeon Dr. Masato Fujiki. After evaluating her case, he proposed something she had never considered before: an intestinal transplant.

Boyd couldn’t help but cry. “I think he thought I was sad, but honestly, I felt relieved. Everyone else had told me this would be my life.”

The Complexity of Intestinal Transplants

According to Dr. Adam Griesemer, a transplant surgeon at NYU Langone, intestinal transplants are quite rare—only around 100 are performed annually in the U.S., compared to 25,000 kidney transplants. He noted that the outcomes for intestinal transplants are less favorable, making doctors cautious about recommending them. Such transplants are generally reserved for children with congenital intestinal defects or those dependent on IV nutrition, like Boyd.

“Patients often face difficulties with rejection and infections,” Griesemer mentioned. Intestines can harbor bacteria, and during rejection, the barrier that keeps those bacteria from entering the bloodstream can break down. Fortunately, Fujiki noted that rejection rates have improved over the last decade, decreasing from 40% to about 8%, and medications can help manage infections.

Moreover, survival rates post-transplant are about 50% after five years, when kidney transplants show a survival rate of 98% during the same period.

Facing the Surgery

After initiating the listing process for the transplant in November, Boyd finally received the procedure in July 2025, 16 months following the accident. The day of the surgery was laden with emotion.

“I was excited, nervous, sad about leaving my daughter, and I felt for the family of the donor,” she said. “Yet, I was prepared for the worst.”

The operation lasted around 12 hours and went smoothly, marking just the beginning of her recovery journey. Boyd spent three weeks in the hospital, followed by three months of outpatient recovery in Cleveland to allow for close monitoring.

Fortunately, she encountered no complications. Her ostomy bag was removed, and she no longer needed IV nourishment. Just before Thanksgiving, she returned home to Oklahoma.

Home for the Holidays

Boyd returned just in time for cherished holiday traditions. After missing critical events like her daughter’s first day of school and Halloween, she felt immense relief to participate in family celebrations.

“My daughter is six now, but my husband still carries her to the Christmas tree every morning for her presents. I wasn’t sure how much longer she’d let him do that,” Boyd reflected. “I thought, ‘What if I miss it this year?’ But thankfully, I didn’t.”

Currently, Boyd follows a regimen of anti-rejection medications and continues her care at the Cleveland Clinic. Other than that, things have returned to a sense of normalcy, and she feels like the worst of the trauma from the accident has been healed.

“Being able to take my daughter to school and pick her up without any worries is refreshing,” she said. “I couldn’t enjoy simple things like drinking Coke for a year and a half. Now it feels like everyone’s a little more at peace.”