Fourteen years ago, Gretchen's intestines stopped working. She hasn't eaten since.

With a rare disease called chronic intestinal pseudo obstruction, Gretchen went from a healthy young woman with a limitless future to a very sick 30-something. Without surgery, she would be unable to eat and function. She would be confined to a hospital bed, getting nutrients from a feeding tube, with nothing to do but wait until her liver finally gives out. Dr. Kareem Abu-Elmagd has been caring for Gretchen for nearly a year, and knows that the only way to make her better is to replace her intestine, stomach, pancreas, duodenum and liver. In a 16-hour operation in late June, Dr. Abu-Elmagd did the impossible and saved her life.