“‘There are only 400-500 cases in the United States.’ I was a 30-year-old healthy, young woman ready to embrace a new decade and start her family. But being 30, as I was going to quickly find out, would have a whole other meaning.”
‘At 9:00 a.m. Thanksgiving Eve, my phone rang. ‘It’s time.’ Nothing could have prepared me.’: Chronic illness warrior receives life-saving liver transplant after triple diagnosis
‘Just wait until he sees you in the hospital. He’ll definitely run.’ I never thought he’d love me back. He held my hand and took care of me.’: Liver transplant recipient shares powerful love story
“As I stood in front of him, he said my scars showed my strength. I couldn’t believe it. For so long, I’d let my illness make me feel like I deserved less. I realized I could do anything with him by my side.”
‘One day, you’ll need a transplant.’ I was DEVASTATED. I never really accepted this, until I had no other option.’: Man with autoimmune hepatitis undergoes liver transplant, ‘It’s my second chance’
“I lost 30 pounds, began sleeping 14 hours a day, and suffered terrible stomach pains. It was raining when I received the call. When I hung up, I watched the raindrops fall down the window in streaks. I was preparing to take my hands off the wheel and hand it to my doctors.”
‘You’ll need a transplant. There’s no telling how soon.’ My skin turned yellow and I had NO energy. I was running out of time!’: Woman receives liver donated by mom, ‘I wear my scars proudly’
“I watched myself fade away, becoming sicker every week. It felt like I waited FOREVER for the perfect match. I had scabs everywhere. My kids grappled to understand what was happening to their mommy.”
‘Home please. Home PLEASE!’ He looked like a living skeleton. Fear made time stop.’: Young boy beats liver cancer, ‘We have a new outlook on life’
“‘You can’t eat baby, it’ll hurt you.’ We agreed he could hold them. He took a cookie out and breathed in. ‘Mmmmmm.’ Then he put the cookie back in its bag. It broke my heart.”
‘That’s crazy!’ I filed it away under the ‘that would never happen’ section of my brain. Then came ‘the call.’ I broke down in fear.’: Baby diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, undergoes liver transplant, ‘She’s full of life’
“I was sleeping in hospital chairs at 20-something-weeks pregnant, walking a bridge back and forth between the children’s hospital and the cancer center, visiting my mom who was undergoing treatment for her second round of cancer. All while my husband was laid-off for needing time to help watch our other children.”
‘I called my husband to say, ‘I don’t want to live anymore. I can’t keep fighting this.’ I’d hit rock bottom, then discovered I was pregnant.’: Woman survives fatal Biliary Atresia to birth miracle baby, ‘I defied all odds’
“During church, I kept feeling my phone vibrate. After the third call, I decided to step into the hall. I noticed a voicemail from a friend. ‘Hannah, we have a liver. I need you to call me back NOW.’ The phone slid out of my hand and dropped to the floor. In complete shock, I whispered, ‘I got the call, Mom,’ as tears started running down my face. She went ghost white. At 5.am. they strapped me down to the operating table. ‘No, I can’t do this. I want out.’ I lost it.”
‘She told me I ‘look like a damn banana’ and needed to go to the ER right away. I had been fighting horrible flu-like symptoms for almost a week leading up to this.’
“They sent me home with strict orders not to take my birth control anymore. I wish I had known this was possible. I met with the doctor and got the scariest news of my life.”
‘I can’t! I can’t!’, it hurt so much in my chest at that moment I couldn’t say anything else. We were relieved our little girl’s suffering was about to end, just not the way we had hoped.’
“We were told she would be okay. We were told she was strong. We were led to believe she wouldn’t need to be hospitalized. After being intubated, her father was showering, and I heard what sounded like crackling.”
‘He died for 3-5 minutes on the surgery table’: School throws private graduation ceremony for sick boy in less than 24 hours
“It was so emotional watching him get to accept his diploma on a stage, in front of a crowd like a senior should be able to do. He has been through so much throughout his short lifetime.”
