Transplant Patient Rides in Rose Parade | Cedars-Sinai Newsroom

On a recent Saturday, Gerald Freeny got a sneak peek at a few of this year’s Rose Parade floats being decorated by volunteers at a warehouse in Irwindale, California. The behind-the-scenes peek captivates many, but it isn’t new to Freeny. He comes here, year after year, as part of his role as a member of the Tournament of Roses Association.

But this year is extra special. That’s because Freeny will be riding in the parade this year, as Cedars-Sinai’s representative on the Donate Life float, which honors transplant donors and recipients.

“This is the first time I'll be riding,” Freeny said. “I won't have to be worried about anything in the parade. I'll be practicing my wave. And I'm looking forward to it.”

As a young, healthy law enforcement officer in the early 1990s, Freeny first knew something was wrong with his health when he felt like he didn’t have energy for his workouts.

“I was working out in the gym, I was working out at home, and my body just—I didn't have the stamina I had, so I went to the doctor, ran blood tests and my liver numbers were just way off,” he said.

Doctors told Freeny that he had bile duct cancer, and that in order to operate, surgeons would have to cut through his liver, meaning he would need a new one. He had that surgery, and the liver transplant, in 1993, at just 33 years old.

That transplant allowed him to continue to pursue his career and amass an extensive resume of community involvement.

Things were going well until 2010, when Freeny found out he had cancer again. This time, it was lymphoma. Treatments for the cancer were hard on his body, and ultimately, Freeny’s doctors told him he would need a new liver and a kidney. He received those transplants at Cedars-Sinai in 2015.

Nicholas Nissen, MD, director of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and surgical director of Liver Transplantation, and Irene Kim, MD, associate professor of Surgery and co-director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center, performed the marathon 14-hour surgery.

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