Family sees God's hand in son's survival after suicide attempt, successful face transplant

SAGINAW, Mich. (OSV News) -- There are moments in life when God makes it overwhelmingly obvious: He's writing the story.

That's the easiest way for Jerry and Lisa Pfaff, and their son Derek, to describe what happened to them this past March.

"It's truly a miracle," Lisa said.

Only God could take the worst, darkest day of their lives and transform it into something beautiful, something joyous.

And he did.

On Ash Wednesday, 10 years ago, Jerry and Lisa's lives were ripped apart.

In the early morning hours of March 5, 2014, Jerry was getting ready to leave for work when he found Derek in the snow outside their home. His shotgun was lying nearby.

Lisa will never forget Jerry's blood-curdling scream.

"My husband just started yelling and screaming, ‘No, Derek, no, no!'" Lisa said. "And he yelled, ‘He shot himself.'"

With the snow still falling, Jerry picked up his 19-year-old son -- an excellent student and athlete who was home from college on a visit -- and loaded him into the back of his vehicle. Lisa notified 911, and Jerry drove as fast as he could to the Harbor Beach Community Hospital emergency room. When they arrived, surgeon Dr. Kelly O' Sullivan was waiting for Derek.

"When I looked at his face … there was no face," Dr. O'Sullivan said. "There were just shards of skin hanging down."

Then Derek stopped breathing.

Sullivan knew Derek had to be intubated quickly, but the trauma to his face was so severe it made it impossible for her to figure out where the tube should go. She knew she couldn't do it alone.

"I just said a little prayer: 'If this young man is supposed to live, take my hands and make this happen.' And I knew in that moment … I have no doubt … God took my hands and that went in, first pass, with no problem."

Derek's lungs inflated, and his heart started.

A few miles away, Derek's parish priest was still asleep when he heard loud knocking on his door. It was Derek's grandfather. The family wanted Derek to receive anointing of the sick before he was transferred to Flint's Hurley Hospital.

In Flint, doctors informed Derek's family he was brain dead.

Derek's older brother remembers his mom leading him into a room to say goodbye. She had covered his eyes with a winter hat.

"I remember walking in, with my hat on, already crying and I peeked," Justin said. "And then I just, I don't know if the anger came over, I kind of started yelling like, 'Derek, what'd you do to us?'"

Jerry and Lisa made the decision to donate Derek's organs knowing he could save as many as 17 lives. He was transferred to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit to be an organ donor. During surgery, however, there was an unexpected revelation: Although there was some brain injury, it was minimal.

Derek would not die; he would live.

For the next seven years, Derek spent time between his home and the hospital. He fought to live every day, leaning into his faith and thanking God for a second chance.

"I wouldn't be here without him," Derek said.

He endured 58 surgeries and came close to death more than once. The family's parish priest came to bless him before each surgery.

"It's hard to explain," Lisa said. "We've just had faith and trusted that in the end, this is going to work out."

Aside from priest visits and trips to the hospital, however, Derek rarely went out in public. For seven years, his family did not openly talk about what happened with other people, even within their close-knit community. This part of their life remained hidden.

Then, in 2021, after a series of setbacks, Lisa was looking at an issue of Great Lakes Bay Catholic (formerly FAITH Saginaw) magazine. She felt ready to share Derek's story, and it seemed like the Lord was encouraging her to do it. The family needed prayers and support while looking to take the next life-changing step in Derek's journey: a complete face transplant.

A private conversation at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption with Saginaw Bishop Robert D. Gruss and the diocesan media team confirmed the family's decision to share.

Throughout it all, the Lord was present, and the response from within the Catholic and greater community was overwhelming.

Derek's story was picked up by local, state and national media. A GoFundMe page generated nearly $300,000 online to support his transplant surgery, thousands of additional dollars were mailed to their home, and Derek and Lisa began to accept a few speaking engagements.

Most moving of all were the private messages that began to pour in.

"I am currently with my 13-year-old daughter who is in-patient for suicide. It's unreal that we got to this point. I'm grateful there are people like you educating and helping. Please continue to speak out," read one.

People thanked Derek and Lisa for saving lives by openly sharing their story with others. Some shared their own struggles, and others their tragic losses. One writer said he, too, had attempted to end his life in a similar way. Knowing Derek was continuing to fight gave him strength to do the same, he wrote.

"He's been willing to share what he looks like and what he's been through to help others," Lisa said. "We couldn't have done this some years back. I couldn't have talked about it without crying."

While they initially expected to undergo the face transplant at Cleveland Clinic several years ago, God had a different plan. One that led Derek to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, a hospital with Catholic roots.

And, although they had been waiting for years, when the call finally came at about 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, it, in some ways, came as a surprise.

"The doctor said we potentially have a donor, and I lost my mind," Lisa said.

Normally calm and poised, and always ready to tackle the next hurdle in front of them, there was no way for Lisa to prepare herself for the call when it finally came in. She reached out to their pastor at Our Lady of Lake Huron Catholic Church (Holy Name of Mary Parish) and asked if he would anoint Derek.

"The scene I walked into that night was quite chaotic," Father Kevin Wojciechowski said. "Suitcases were flying past me left and right. It was a blessing to be able step into the chaos and fill Derek with God‘s healing graces, which also brought some momentary peace to the rest of the family."

Two days later, Derek was on a vent and being prepped for surgery. And on Feb. 4, the face transplant began. Jerry and Lisa stayed nearby. They got regular updates from the medical team, and shared progress reports with their family and friends.

"Just hit 50 hours of surgery," Lisa wrote on Feb. 6.

Jerry and Lisa could barely eat or sleep during these days but were held up and sustained by prayer.

"Everyone was trying to keep up to date with how Derek's healing journey was progressing in Minnesota," Father Wojciechowski said. "One night, while he was undergoing surgery, about 100 people from the community showed up to our church to pray a rosary for him."

After 59 hours and 38 minutes, the surgery was finished, and Lisa shared another update.

"Everything went perfect!!!" Lisa wrote. "The doctor said Derek looks beautiful. He never left Derek's side. It's a true miracle. God is soooooo great!"

Tense moments would return, however, as Derek's body began to reject his new organ.

"I remember sitting in the hospital's chapel -- all by myself up by the altar -- just asking for strength," Lisa said. "Praying that God would help the doctors know what to do."

Derek would endure a treatment in which all of his blood was removed from his body, flushed of any bad antibodies, and then put back in. The treatment worked.

Two weeks after his surgery when Derek got out of ICU, Lisa took him in his wheelchair to St. Mary's Catholic Chapel on the Mayo Clinic grounds. It's where she prayed and found peace and comfort. As it would be, they arrived just in time to go to Mass.

It was approaching the end of February and Derek still wasn't allowed to look in the mirror.

"They didn't want him to see himself right away," Lisa said. "They wanted to wait until there was no bruising or swelling."

One day his doctor stopped in and asked if the "following Tuesday" would work for the reveal.
Lisa was speechless.

"There are 365 days in the year," Lisa said. "And, yet, here we are … at this time … and he suggested March 5. I looked at him and said, 'Are you serious? Next Tuesday is 10 years to the day we almost lost Derek.' He had no idea, but God was working through him in a beautiful way. I said, 'You picked the most perfect day.'"

On March 5, 2024, with cameras rolling and about 40 people crowding his hospital room, Derek was ready.

"When they started setting up cameras, it got real," Derek said. "I was thinking, ‘It's happening.' I looked in that mirror and thought ... ‘Wow.'"

"God took the most devastating day in our lives and turned it into a day of joy and celebration," Lisa said. "To see the look on Derek's face, and hear him say, ‘I have a nose, lips and a face now.' ... I'll never, ever forget that."

The darkest day of their lives had been transformed in a way only God could make possible.

"I get emotional just thinking about it," Jerry said. "Look at the hair on my arms standing up. That's how it affects me every time we talk about it. It just gives you the shakes and shivers."

Lisa said it would be impossible to thank everyone for all that has been done for them. The witness of so many has impacted the entire family.

"God truly has miracle workers on this earth with us," said Derek's older brother Justin.

In 2014, Derek was first released to go home from the hospital on Mother's Day weekend.

With God rewriting the story, Lisa had a feeling Derek would be released, once again, on Mother's Day weekend. And he was. It brought renewed joy back to this special day. Yet, Lisa was deeply aware that her joy was another mother's sorrow.

"I prayed the whole weekend for the donor's mother," Lisa said.

She wasn't alone.

"One reflection I've had on this whole experience is that an individual had to die in order for Derek to receive what was necessary to start a new life," Father Wojciechowski said. "When you think about it, you can see the parallels to the Cross. Jesus, in a sense, ‘had to die' so that you and I could receive what was necessary to start a new life in Him. Just as we praise and thank Jesus for what his redemptive death has done for us, so we ought to thank the individual who generously chose to be an organ donor as we pray for the repose of his soul."

As he continues to heal, Derek hopes he'll soon pick up where he left off before his transplant surgery.

"I would like to help others any way that I can," Derek said.

He hopes his story strengthens others to talk about their struggles before they harm themselves so they can avoid the pain he has endured. The words "Derek's Pain '4' Purpose" are etched on bracelets worn by his family and friends.

While there aren't any set plans for what's ahead for Derek, Lisa says that's OK.

"God will lead us. We're just continuing to put our faith in him."

To borrow a phrase adapted from Jeremiah 29:11: They trust the next chapter because they know the author.