{"id":79969,"date":"2025-01-26T18:02:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T01:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=79969"},"modified":"2026-03-31T12:39:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:39:19","slug":"triathlete-taps-her-strength-to-overcome-serious-health-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/triathlete-taps-her-strength-to-overcome-serious-health-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Accomplished triathlete taps strength and determination to cope with serious health issues"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><figure id=\"attachment_80064\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-80064\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-80064\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/27115313\/Jeanie-arms-crossed-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Triathlete Jeanie Brookbanks-Smith has tapped deep wells of determination to cope with Budd-Chiari syndrome and Polycythemia vera. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.\" width=\"640\" height=\"402\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-80064\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Triathlete Jeanie Brookbanks-Smith has tapped deep wells of determination to cope with Budd-Chiari syndrome and Polycythemia vera. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In August 2023, Jeanie Brookbanks-Smith completed the Boulder Sunset Triathlon. That might have been just another race for the nurse and mother of three who has been a top-tier competitor for decades. Yet crossing the finishing line this time was extra sweet, and she savored the moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI literally wanted to kiss the ground when I was done,\u201d she said. \u201cI cried when I finished. It was wonderful. It was huge. It gave me a sense of getting back what I thought was going to be taken away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the previous few years, Jeanie had overcome a liver condition affecting just one in a million adults called Budd\u2013Chiari syndrome.<\/p>\n<p>She also suffers from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Polycythemia vera (PV), a rare, chronic blood cancer caused by her bone marrow producing too many red blood cells.<\/li>\n<li>Multiple <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/medschool.cuanschutz.edu\/rheumatology\/patient-care\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">auto immune disorders<\/a> that causes Jeanie\u2019s immune system to attack her tissues in different, adverse ways.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Yet she is back now in the race in a big way, with her competitive spirit as strong as ever.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_80044\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-80044\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-80044\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/26165654\/Jeanie-cycling-tiny.webp\" alt=\"An accomplished triathlete, Jeanie's strength and resilience serve as an inspiration to others who are dealing with health challenges. Photo by Kevin Smith, courtesy of Jeanie Brooksbank-Smith.\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-80044\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An accomplished triathlete, Jeanie&#8217;s strength and resilience serve as an inspiration to others who are dealing with health challenges. Photo by Kevin Smith, courtesy of Jeanie Brooksbank-Smith.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Jeanie&#8217;s health struggles<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>During the last few decades, Jeanie has completed so many triathlons she\u2019s lost count: somewhere between 25 and 30, she guessed. A triathlon is an endurance multisport race that includes swimming, biking and running.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s just some drive I have to be the best that I can be,\u201d said the 54-year-old Connecticut native. \u201cI am a firm believer in mind over matter, and how much your mind can do \u2026 how much good or damage it can do. It goes both ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A registered nurse, Jeanie is now pursuing a career as a licensed health and wellness nurse-coach so she can use her knowledge and skills in training and fitness to help others navigate their way through illness to a better life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about mindfulness and the mind-body connection that affects so many things. \u00a0It could be about quieting the chatter in your head, work-related issues, loneliness, depression. The list is long, and it could be about anything you are dealing with,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Jeanie has many fans who talk about her iron will and determination, along with her warmth and compassion. Family, friends and UCHealth physicians on her health care team praise Jeanie for being upbeat in the face of multiple serious health issues, even remembering a friend\u2019s birthday on one of Jeanie\u2019s worst days during a hospital stay.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-youtube su-u-responsive-media-yes\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"400\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fc4oIcMwzSo?mute=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture\" title=\"Make the Most of It | Jeanie Brookbanks-Smith | Harry Mack x UCHealth | Ep. 058\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s so amazing,\u201d said <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/james-burton-md\/\">Dr. James Burton<\/a>, UCHealth <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/services\/transplant-services\/liver-transplants\/\">transplant hepatologist<\/a> who specializes in the care of patients with acute and chronic liver disease before and after liver transplantation. \u201cShe has had some bad luck with a poor hand of cards, but she has made the absolute best of what was dealt to her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Agreeing was another of Jeanie\u2019s UCHealth physicians, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/brandon-mcmahon-md\/\">Dr. Brandon McMahon<\/a>, who specializes in hematology and oncology.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe has a great attitude. She\u2019s extremely driven, and she doesn\u2019t let this hold her back in any way. It\u2019s very inspiring to take care of someone like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/james-pomposelli-md-phd\/\">Dr. James Pomposelli,<\/a> transplant surgeon at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-transplant-services-anschutz\/\">UCHealth Transplant Center on the Anschutz Campus<\/a>, said Jeanie keeps beating the odds: \u201cShe\u2019s a full-out fighter. She has three beautiful daughters, and she just doesn\u2019t give up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So how did Jeanie, a fitness enthusiast who has run three marathons and dozens of triathlons, become so ill?<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A traveling nurse, Jeanie lived throughout the U.S. before landing in Colorado<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_80045\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-80045\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-80045\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/26165657\/Jeanie-family-picture-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Jeanie and her husband, Kevin, with their three daughters. Family members have been great supporters as the accomplished triathlete has navigated health challenges. Photo courtesy of Jeanie Brooksbank-Smith.\" width=\"640\" height=\"498\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-80045\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeanie and her husband, Kevin, with their three daughters. Family members have been great supporters as the accomplished triathlete has navigated health challenges. Photo courtesy of Jeanie Brooksbank-Smith.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Jeanie knew she had the aptitude and disposition to be a nurse since she was in high school and worked at a nearby nursing home. She graduated in 1993 with a nursing degree from University of Connecticut.<\/p>\n<p>She spent the bulk of her early years as a nurse in critical care, and then as a travel nurse in Texas, California, Boston, Florida and Hawaii. Travel nurses work temporarily at hospitals in high-need areas. By the time she was in her late 20s and living in the Aloha State, she began running and thought, why not a marathon?<\/p>\n<p>Jeanie had competed three marathons in Honolulu and Maui then traded her flip flops for skis when she took a job as a traveling nurse at University of Colorado Hospital. She then met her husband Kevin, a triathlete in his spare time, on a blind date. They married in 2003, settled in Greenwood Village and went on to raise a family that includes three daughters now 19, 17 and 15.<\/p>\n<p>Jeanie worked as a nurse at metro Denver hospitals and surgical centers while raising her famil. It was while she was training for a race that her first major health issues surfaced.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Dealing with stage 3 kidney failure when she turned 40<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In 2010, Jeanie was preparing for a triathlon and noticed a lot of pain in her left calf. While she thought it was related to her training, it turned out to be a 17-inch-long blood clot attached to vascular tissue in her leg.<\/p>\n<p>She was placed on a blood thinner and began suffering from migraines and was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney failure due to hypertension. As doctors monitored the blood clot, things got scarier when a dental visit for a root canal showed her blood pressure to be 204 over 110.<\/p>\n<p>She ended up in the ER and tests showed she had APLAS, which stands for\u00a0antiphospholipid antibodies, a disorder that can cause blood clots to form in arteries and veins. In addition, she was dealing with multiple autoimmune disorders, for Jeanie, this meant vitiligo, a chronic condition when patches of her skin lose pigment or color and eventually, alopecia, which causes hair loss.<\/p>\n<p>Jeanie also was suffering from hypothyroidism, where her thyroid gland was not making enough thyroid hormones.<\/p>\n<p>But in typical Jeanie style, she didn\u2019t\u2019 slow down and instead, tackled her health setbacks as bumps in the road.<\/p>\n<p>Medication kept her autoimmune disorder under control, and her blood clot gradually disappeared as well. She stayed hydrated and followed a healthy diet to stay on top of her kidney disorder, and her migraines improved too as more than 10 years passed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I look back, that was all nothing compared to what I was going to go through. I thought, \u2018I can deal with this.\u2019 I\u2019m still skiing, I\u2019m still doing triathlons, and then I got to Mother\u2019s Day 2021 \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Any celebratory plans for Jeanie on that special day would have to be put on hold.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_80050\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-80050\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-80050\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/26174241\/Jeanie-with-medals-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Jeanie is a triathlete who has dealt with health challenges. Here, she poses with some of her many medals. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.\" width=\"640\" height=\"404\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-80050\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeanie is a triathlete who has dealt with health challenges. Here, she poses with some of her many medals. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Genetic mutation leads to prolonged hospitalization and major health scare<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In early May 2021, Jeanie had a strange feeling of her \u201cbelly being full\u201d despite not having eaten. Thinking she might have a bowel obstruction, she went to a local hospital and after some bloodwork and a liver biopsy, she was told she had Budd Chiari syndrome. But after three days, she was discharged and told that this condition could be monitored at home.<\/p>\n<p>Budd Chiari syndrome occurs when veins carrying blood away from the liver clot or become too narrow. With nowhere for the blood to go, the liver becomes enlarged and tender, eventually causing cirrhosis, or severe fibrosis (scarring), along with fluid buildup. If left untreated, the liver can become so damaged that a transplant would become necessary.<\/p>\n<p>For Jeannie, the culprit causing this rare condition was a blood abnormality in a gene called JAK2, which only was discovered about 20 years ago. This mutated gene, which leads to the production of too many red blood cells, put her at a higher risk for blood clotting in her liver.<\/p>\n<p>Unbeknownst to her, it was also fueling a type of chronic leukemia, or blood cancer, called Polycythemia vera (PV), which doctors would learn about a few months later.<\/p>\n<p>Feeling worse after leaving the hospital that day in early May, Jeanie\u2019s luck would turn when a worried friend, a UCHealth physician, got her an appointment soon after with hepatologist <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/som.cuanschutz.edu\/Profiles\/Faculty\/Profile\/11417\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Burton<\/a>, also the medical director of liver transplantation at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-university-of-colorado-hospital-uch\/\">UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>When he saw Jeanie, he was alarmed: She had jaundice, which meant her skin had turned yellow, and she had ascites (fluid in the abdomen), because of the increased pressure of the blood exiting her liver. She was diagnosed with acute liver injury, as her liver was congested with blood and not working well, and he felt she would need surgery right away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think Jeannie knew how sick she was,\u201d Burton said. \u201cShe was fortunate to come to a center like UCHealth where we could diagnose, manage and take on a high-level liver disease case like hers.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_79980\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-79980\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-79980\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/20125705\/UCHealth_JeanieBrookbanks_Smith0226-web.webp\" alt=\"Jeanie Brookbanks-Smith, a triathlete, overcomes Budd-Chiari syndrome and Polycythemia vera to inspire others with her strength and resilience. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.\" width=\"640\" height=\"454\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-79980\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An accomplished triathlete, Jeanie&#8217;s new mission is to tap her nursing experience to help other people navigate health challenges. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Jeanie was seriously ill and struggled to recuperate from surgery<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The liver performs many critical functions, including filtering blood of toxins and wastes. It helps support our immunity, metabolism and digestion to create the nutrients our body needs.<\/p>\n<p>Key to this process is the portal vein, which carries blood from the abdomen to the liver where blood is filtered and processed. The blood exits the liver through the hepatic vein before emptying into the inferior vena cava, the vein that delivers blood from the lower body to the heart.<\/p>\n<p>But because Jeanie\u2019s hepatic vein was clotted, blood could not get out of her liver, so she underwent an operation performed by Pomposelli called a portacaval shunt to solve this dangerous problem. During the lengthy and complex procedure, he connected her portal vein directly to her inferior vena cava, completely bypassing her liver to relieve the congestion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole point of the shunt is protecting the liver from injury and developing fibrosis, relieving pressure in the liver, and avoiding a possible transplant surgery in the future for her,\u201d said <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/som.cuanschutz.edu\/Profiles\/Faculty\/Profile\/24491\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pomposelli<\/a>, also a professor of surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.<\/p>\n<p>The portacaval shunt, in essence, solved the liver clotting problem that Budd Chiari syndrome had created for Jeanie. But the surgery aftermath brought more challenges, as her body fought off infections and other complications that required her to the return to the ICU.<\/p>\n<p>Family and friends supported Jeanie and her family as she continued to convalesce.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was just a rock star the whole entire time. She never complained, she just kept doing whatever she had to do,\u201d said Jeanie\u2019s sister Donna Downes, who came from Connecticut to help Jeanie that summer.<\/p>\n<p>For her older sister, seeing Jeanie suffer after so many health obstacles over the years was heartbreaking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was very stoic through all the ups and downs. I would say, \u201cJeanie you can cry, you can complain, you can let it out.\u2019 But she just had incredible strength.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The day after the shunt surgery, Jeanie\u2019s close friend Robin Roberts-Drane recalled a conversation in her hospital room about tough issues such as a living will and decisions about extreme measures to prolong her life if necessary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe told us, \u2018If I can recognize my kids and interact with them, I want to live. I want to do everything I can.\u2019 It really spoke to her zest for life and what she values over all things \u2013 her love of her husband, children and family.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_79979\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-79979\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-79979\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/20125703\/UCHealth_JeanieBrookbanks_Smith0130-web.webp\" alt=\"Jeanie and her husband, Kevin, enjoy time outdoors at Cherry Creek State Park. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.\" width=\"640\" height=\"431\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-79979\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeanie and her husband, Kevin, enjoy time outdoors at Cherry Creek State Park. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>The memory of her mother keeps Jeanie\u2019s spirits up as she finally leaves for home, but she braces for another health hit<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jeanie said the memory of her mom, who died in 2015 of pancreatic cancer, was with her every day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI prayed to her every night. I swear that\u2019s what got me through this \u2013 prayer. She was listening. She kept telling me, \u2018You\u2019re going to live, you\u2019re going to live.\u2019\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Donna agreed that their mom\u2019s spirit was at hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe both felt our mom\u2019s presence. Our mom was giving Jeanie the strength she needed to get through this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just took it one day at a time; we had faith she was going to be OK, and we just prayed really hard. She had such a strong will to live and such a strong sense for her daughters and husband and her entire family. She just would never feel sorry for herself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By early July, Jeanie was finally well enough to be discharged, but her health ordeal was far from over. After some follow-up blood work a few months later she learned she had the rare blood cancer, Polycythemia vera (PV).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI kept saying to my friends, \u2018I can get through this, as long as it\u2019s not cancer.\u2019 But then I was diagnosed with PV, which I\u2019ll have for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While PV is not curable, it can be managed and treated with medication.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer blood disease is controlled and she\u2019s doing well now. She\u2019s very stable,\u201d said <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/som.cuanschutz.edu\/Profiles\/Faculty\/Profile\/24680\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">McMahon<\/a>, also a professor of medicine-hematology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Jeanie resumes her life with her husband, daughters, and once again pursues triathlons <\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_80046\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-80046\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-80046\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/26165701\/Jeanie-running-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Following a year-long break from triathlons, Jeanie returned to the sport in 2023. She has since participated in multiple events. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.\" width=\"640\" height=\"409\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-80046\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Following a year-long break from triathlons, Jeanie returned to the sport in 2023. She has since participated in multiple events. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the more than three years since her portacaval shunt procedure, Jeanie has centered her life on her family, her career and her passions.<\/p>\n<p>She is on a medication regimen to manage her PV, as well as side effects from her thyroid and auto immune disorders. She gets routine bloodwork, each time hoping for normal results, imaging to ensure her shunt stays open, and biopsies to review her liver for any tissue scarring.<\/p>\n<p>She is excited about a new career that will channel her focus, discipline and fitness knowledge as a nurse and holistic health coach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to concentrate on health and wellness. Anybody who deals with chronic disease knows how difficult it can be to navigate the health care system. I want to teach people to be the best version of themselves, as I can speak from a lot of experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That perseverance is part of Jeanie\u2019s hardwiring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen she hits a roadblock, she goes around it. When a door closes, she finds a window. If the window is locked, she will find another way out,\u201d friend Robin said.<\/p>\n<p>After taking about a year off from triathlons, Jeanie was back to it in 2023, and this past summer and fall, she competed in several, including the Boulder race that meant so much to her.<\/p>\n<p>Her times might be slightly slower compared to when she was at her peak, but she is OK with that. She feels good and said she is trying to be at her best each day with no predictions on what the future might bring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe only have one life and it\u2019s up to you to make the most of it: Be your own best advocate and don\u2019t sweat the small stuff. Surround yourself with people that fill you with joy and be that person for somebody else.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In August 2023, Jeanie Brookbanks-Smith completed the Boulder Sunset Triathlon. That might have been just another race for the nurse and mother of three who has been a top-tier competitor for decades. Yet crossing the finishing line this time was extra sweet, and she savored the moment. \u201cI literally wanted to kiss the ground when [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2357,"featured_media":80064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1024,1412,39],"class_list":["post-79969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-blood-disorders-disease-care-hematology","tag-kidney-disease-hypertension-care","tag-transplant-services"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Triathlete taps her strength to overcoming serious health issues - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Triathlete Jeanie Brookbanks-Smith overcomes Budd-Chiari syndrome and Polycythemia vera and inspires others with her strength and resilience.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/triathlete-taps-her-strength-to-overcome-serious-health-issues\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Accomplished triathlete taps strength and determination to cope with serious health issues\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Triathlete Jeanie Brookbanks-Smith overcomes Budd-Chiari syndrome and Polycythemia vera and inspires others with her strength and resilience.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/triathlete-taps-her-strength-to-overcome-serious-health-issues\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-27T01:02:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-31T18:39:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/27115313\/Jeanie-arms-crossed-tiny.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mary Gay Broderick, for UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mary Gay Broderick, for UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"14 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/triathlete-taps-her-strength-to-overcome-serious-health-issues\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/triathlete-taps-her-strength-to-overcome-serious-health-issues\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mary Gay Broderick, for UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c91e8a4932eea6caad6cc64ac28dede\"},\"headline\":\"Accomplished triathlete taps strength and determination to cope with serious health issues\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-27T01:02:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-31T18:39:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/triathlete-taps-her-strength-to-overcome-serious-health-issues\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2691,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/triathlete-taps-her-strength-to-overcome-serious-health-issues\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/27115313\\\/Jeanie-arms-crossed-tiny.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Blood disorders &amp; 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