Jennifer Parker is an advocate for organ donation and breast cancer awareness. With 35 years of professional experience in healthcare, she is a compelling public speaker and tireless ambassador for patient-centered care.
Parker, 64, is also a particularly convincing voice, having survived stage IV breast cancer and later receiving a heart transplant. Her story – which she shares through many platforms and speaking engagements – is one of determination, awareness, and hope.
A second journey
A resident of Lexington, Tenn., Parker had a distinguished career in the clinical laboratory setting. Inspired by family members with nursing and clinical laboratory careers, and guided by her mother’s advice to get as much education as possible, she served as a medical technologist, manager, and director of laboratory operations for 35 years before retiring in 2021. At that time, her breast cancer journey was 16 years in her past.
She had made the decision to fully manage her own boutique floral design company, Southern Sparkle Florals, which has been featured in several lifestyle and design publications, including Martha Stewart Weddings. Three months after making that career change, however, she was diagnosed with chemotherapy-induced congestive heart failure.
“The medication that helped save my life 16 years earlier was now bringing a new heath issue and the risks that come with it,” Parker said. “Seeking a remedy became a second journey, but during the first part of the journey, I was not finding answers. My health was declining, and new medication brought side several side effects, but with no change in my numbers. My husband and daughter learned to ask more questions and became advocates for me during this time. It was frustrating and frightening. I was fortunate enough to get a great recommendation from a cousin, who’s a nurse practitioner, to a cardiovascular group in Birmingham that was fours away from home.”
Parker still was not improving, even with what she says was excellent care from cardiologists she was seeing in Birmingham. In spring 2023, she was referred to UAB Medicine and eventually the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute.
“I remember the day I was advised to consult with UAB,” Parker said. “This electrophysiologist was a young doctor, and he stated directly, ‘We think you need to talk to the transplant team at UAB.’ I asked, ‘If I were your mother, what would you tell me to do?’ He said, ‘If you were my mom or sister, I would say the same thing.’”
Another world of care
Parker was then referred to Jose Tallaj, M.D., medical director of the heart transplant program at the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute. She says she began getting care “right when I stepped in the door of the Transplant Institute.”
“I was at the wrong entrance, because my sister had dropped me off at the rear of the building, thanks to Siri,” Parker said with a laugh. “Someone instantly came over and guided me to where I need to go. In each department where I had tests done, every member of their care team was so kind and thoughtful. It was just a different world. Some of my family and I sat down to talk with Dr. Tallaj. I could tell right away I was in good hands. It was a relief.”
Still, Parker recalls that she wasn’t prepared for what she heard next.
“I won’t forget that day. Dr. Tallaj explained that they wanted to conduct a full transplant evaluation, then he said, ‘We need to admit you today. You may not get to go home until you have a new heart,’” Parker said. “It’s amusing to think about now, but upon hearing his words, I started convincing myself, ‘Okay, he’s done this before. He’s a professional. He knows what he’s talking about.’ I have 35 years in the health profession myself, but news like this is different when you are on the other side of it. Plus, I knew almost nothing about organ transplants.”
Parker had a choice to make.
“Dr. Tallaj gave me the option to return to Tennessee for a couple of days, where my husband was having surgery that week for a neck injury, if you can believe that. But I chose to stay. I knew that someone had to die in order for me to live; that’s the sad but true bottom line of a heart transplant. I didn’t want to risk anything that might delay travelling back and forth and miss the opportunity.”
Parker received a new heart in July 2023, just 29 days after her consultation and evaluation at the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute. There were no major complications, and she began a regimen of anti-rejection medication that she will take the rest of her life. At the time, such a successful medical achievement may have looked like the beginning of a relaxed, quiet, and peaceful retirement. Parker had other plans.
Track and field ambassador
In her words, Parker wanted to “get back into senior Olympics at some point.” It wasn’t wishful thinking. In November 2023, a mere four months after her transplant surgery, she walked and ran in a 5K event in Perdido Key, Fla. She participated in another event a few months later, followed quickly by the Tennessee Senior Olympics, where she earned gold medals in three track and field events and a silver medal in a fourth event. At the Transplant Games of America, hosted in Birmingham in July 2024, Parker earned silver medals in the 60M and 100M events.
Those remarkable accomplishments were not simply a matter of being a fierce competitor. Parker says she recognized right away that her participation in the Tennessee Senior Olympics and other events could be a foundation for what she calls “my message.”
“When I participated in the 5K at Perdido, I had Donate Life T-shirts for my family and me to wear for the event,” Parker said. “That’s when I knew I wanted to be an ambassador for organ donation. I figured that having people say, ‘Look at this old lady out here, after a having a heart transplant, winning medals’ might be a good promotion for organ donation.”
Donate Life America stages and supports annual celebrations and events to showcase the perspectives of families and individuals touched by organ donation and transplantation. Parker’s experience led her to become an official ambassador for Alabama’s own organ procurement organization, Legacy of Hope.
A message of hope
Today Parker is a busy advocate, giving talks to medical professionals, women’s organizations, corporate audiences, churches, and – as Parker puts it – “anyone who needs a message of both practical information and hope.”
“My message focusses on three topics: the importance of organ donor registration, being your own most determined advocate in any medical setting, and breast cancer awareness,” Parker said. “What gives my talks weight is that I have survived cancer and I’m an organ recipient myself. That’s 21 years of personal experience I certainly didn’t want to have. But with that background, I believe that sharing my message can make a difference, and I want to share it with as many people as possible.”
UAB Medicine’s Comprehensive Transplant Institute is among the most experienced and trusted organ transplant programs in the nation. Click here to learn more, and visit Legacy of Hope to register as an organ donor.