New Liver-New Life-Josh's Transplant

Josh was born with a birth defect called Biliary Atresia. To help prevent immediate liver damage, doctors performed a Kasai Procedure. Generally infants that receive the Kasai Procedure receive a liver transplant when they are children, no later than their teenage years. Josh is almost 40 and has not received his liver transplant. Every year of Josh's life, he has fought infections known as Cholangitis. He has spent much of his life in the hospital on IV antibiotics and unable to participate in certain sports and activities. He's been though a lot, but most people would never know it.Josh and his wife, Bethany, have 5 kids. They are active in their church and in their children's lives. Josh has been a stay at home dad for the past 10 years, as infections started becoming more serious and interfered with his ability to work. His children adore him, his wife is very much in love with him and they are such a sweet, beautiful family. On December 10th, after fighting a bout of Cholangitis since June, it quickly became apparent Josh isn't going to bounce back this time.

We were blessed through the gift of organ donation on January 20, 2017! Josh received his New Liver-New Life! As we get back into a normal life, we recognize how incredibly blessed we have been by so many people, including those we don't even know. I missed a lot of unpaid time from work to go through this journey with my husband and am grateful for every donation that helped me be able to make that possible! I am back to work, still catching up and realizing what the costs of medication will be to keep Josh alive, what the hospital stay and surgery cost was, but ultimately, I have my husband and my kids have their dad! What more could you ask for! Thank you for your prayers! Thank you for taking time to read this and for any contributions!