The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers punched their ticket to the College World Series in an upset win over LSU. Caroline Hogue was thrilled – she was coming home.
"It's not just going on a trip, it's coming to where your history is," said Hogue.
Caroline was only 7 months old when she moved to Omaha from Conway, S.C. for ten months.
Ten years later, she’s back. Not only to cheer on her team, Coastal Carolina in the College World Series.
But to celebrate.
"I just think it's so cool that we're here now, and actually celebrating the 10th anniversery of my transplant,” said Hogue.
Caroline was born with burden syndrome, meaning she had non-functioning intestines. Her body couldn’t digest food properly, and she was fed through an IV. She needed a small bowel transplant to survive, something only three hospitals at the time did. One of those hospitals was Nebraska Medicine.
Caroline and her mother, Laura, made the move to Omaha to wait for a transplant.
"I don't really know how it felt, but just knowing I was so close to not being able to live," Hogue said through tears, “it’s hard for me to realize that I was close to dying.”
They waited for 5 months, and finally, the call came. Then came five more months of recovery before Caroline and her mother moved back home.
Caroline now shares her success story with baseball fans from across the country.
"We remember being here in 2006,” said Laura Hogue, Caroline’s mother, “and that all came full circle last night at the opening ceremonies.”
Caroline will show the Chanticleers around Nebraska Medicine, when the baseball team goes to meet with pediatric transplant patients on Monday.
