Gabe Bergemann isn’t shy about discussing his lifelong alcohol addiction. He views it almost analytically, explaining how alcohol transitioned from a way to de-stress after work to a method of passing the time during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the reasons he has no problem talking about how addiction affected his health is because he made it out the other side. Gabe hit rock-bottom, thinking he was going to die from liver disease, when he suddenly received a second chance with a liver transplant at University Hospital in Madison, Wis.
Now, he’s ready to shout from the rooftops his appreciation for the caregivers who took a chance on him. “I’m never going to drink again because it’s not worth it,” he said.
Alcohol addiction led to death's door
From age 21 to 52, alcohol was the centerpiece of Gabe’s social life. He loves talking to people and the easiest way to scratch that social itch was to go to a bar and have a drink with them.
“I never considered myself an alcoholic,” he said. “To me, an alcoholic was someone who was drinking all the time and I wasn’t.
“But when I did go out, I would drink a lot. Over a period of 32 years, it built up and caused great damage to my body in many ways.”
When the pandemic came along, Gabe’s usual social outlets vanished. Instead, he and his wife Wendy passed the time by drinking at home nearly every day of the week.
In 2023, Gabe was feeling the pain of liver disease and needed to seek treatment.
“I had been feeling poorly for at least five years, but I wasn’t honest with my doctors about the extent of my alcohol use,” he said. “In 2023, the pain really kicked in, and I was diagnosed with encephalopathy. In truth, I was probably suffering from it for about two years before they diagnosed it.”
By February 2024, Gabe’s liver disease was so severe that he stopped drinking cold turkey. He hasn’t had a drink since then. But it was too late — his UW Health medical team told him he would likely need a liver transplant to survive. They scheduled him for a transplant evaluation in December.
“I was so terribly ill by November that I ended up in the hospital for about two weeks,” Gabe said. “Instead of waiting until December for my evaluation, they gave it to me in a hospital room because they knew I wouldn’t make it another couple weeks.
“They sent me home with 24-36 hours to live. I got home and I was making my peace with death — and seven hours later, I was matched with a new liver.”
Flourishing with a second chance
Gabe received his gift of life on Nov. 25, 2024.
“In the hospital, the level of care that I had was absolutely amazing,” he said. “I felt so well taken care of.”
Nov. 25 also marked a new beginning for Gabe — one that’s much healthier than the life he previously led.
“It’s easy as pie to stay away from alcohol,” he said. “I woke up one day in 2009 and decided, I’m not smoking. In the same way, I woke up one day in February 2024 and said I was going to stop drinking. I’m not triggered to drink at all.”
Gabe is determined not to waste his second chance and is finding fulfillment in a variety of new, healthier ways.
Seven months his transplant, Gabe and Wendy adopted an 85-pound rescue Doberman named Umit — the Turkish word for “hope.” Since then, he and Umit have been walking three to six miles every day.
He’s also working 20-25 hours a week in human resources for a nonprofit that works with the homeless community.
“That really has given me the focus I needed,” he said. “I was suffering from terrible anxiety before I started there and now I want to get up in the morning and go to work.”
Sobriety has also helped strengthen the relationships in Gabe’s life.
“I’m living and enjoying life so much more than I previously have. I’m making closer connections to my old friends and to new ones,” he said. “The new memories I’m making are positive and well-remembered.
“This is truly a celebration of life for me.”