A Liver for Alex Carrasco
Donation protected
A Liver For Alex I. Carrasco
Written by his wife, Amy
Alex and Amy Carrasco, 1995 Engagement Photo - Today we are the parents of 3 loving sons who we're crazy about - Max (23), Jack (22) and Adam (14). We live in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Alex is a native of Valparaiso, Chile and proud U.S. citizen of 30 years. He is a software developer and devoted husband and father. Before becoming ill with end stage liver disease, Alex owned a small, weekend business baking and selling Chilean breads, pastries, and empanadas with his eldest son, Max, and loved to sing and play the guitar and piano for audiences large and small, both as a hobby and professionally.
February 2020
"True love is a rare thing," said Craig, my husband's liver transplant nurse and coordinator, as we sat opposite him in a small exam room at Intermountain Medical Center's Murray, Utah liver transplant clinic; Alex in a wheelchair and I in an adjacent seat sitting shoulder to shoulder so we could hold hands. We met Craig a month earlier when Alex's lab results showed he'd reached end stage liver disease significant enough to be considered for transplant.
On this day, Alex looked far too small for the clothes he was wearing due to a sudden and rapid 40 pound weight loss from illness. His legs were weak, thin, and bony from cirrhosis-induced muscle wasting. His usual olive-toned skin was alarmingly pale and slightly yellow from jaundice. He was nauseated, dehydrated and, unbeknownst at the time, on too high a dose of several cirrhosis medications which made him lose strength, mobility, clear-thinking and the ability to work for several weeks.
Alex at hospital before esophageal banding procedure, February 2020
At home, we'd moved our bed from the second floor to the first because Alex could no longer use stairs safely. He used a walker to get from the sofa to the bed or bathroom, both just 6-10 feet from the sofa. Even with the walker, he often required me or one of our sons to support him so he wouldn't fall down.
Alex during one of 6 hospital admissions between December 2019 and February 2020
We sat and listened to Craig quietly, both of us utterly exhausted after enduring two frightening months of weekly emergency room visits and hospital stays at two different hospitals 30 miles apart - often in the ICU, including one through the Christmas holiday; and today's three-hour long patient/caregiver training session on cirrhosis, end-stage liver failure, and transplant. This wasn't how we imagined the year of our 25th wedding anniversary would begin.
"It's obvious true love is what you two share," Craig continued then added with firm resolve, "Don't worry. We're going to help you and Alex get your lives back."
Three Years Earlier
One day in 2016 my husband urgently called to me from the bathroom in our West Jordan, Utah home. When I opened the door I found he'd vomited blood and a lot of it. We raced him to the nearest emergency room.
Scans revealed a significant amount of blood pooled in his stomach.
When I asked the ER doctor what caused the internal bleeding, he said some blood vessels in Alex's esophagus burst, most likely due to cirrhosis of the liver.
"Cirrhosis! How could my husband have cirrhosis!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "He's never had a drink in his life!" At the time the only thing I knew about cirrhosis was that it killed Alex's alcoholic father who died of the disease 40 years earlier at age 42.
The doctor explained there is another type of cirrhosis called NASH, which stands for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. NASH is liver inflammation and damage caused by a buildup of fat in the liver. Alex was admitted to the ICU and they drained 3 liters of blood from his stomach.
They said he was lucky to be alive.
In the months and years to come, Alex would go to the hospital 2 to 3 times a year for a painful banding procedure of esophageal varices (blood vessels in the esophagus).
These procedures successfully prevented further bleeding until a second episode occurred 4 years later on December 8, 2019. From that day through late January 2020, Alex nearly lost his life on three separate occasions.
We are so very grateful he is still with us!
Alex when he was most happy. Baking
A Call for Help
Without a new liver Alex will not survive.
We are currently blessed to have health insurance that will cover $1.2 million in medical transplant expenses for Alex and a living* or deceased donor.
However, though the Family and Medical Leave Act protects Alex's job for 3 months, it is unpaid leave.
At this writing (March 13, 2020), Alex has 2 weeks remaining of paid time off. He was able to work full time for 3-4 weeks in late February and March, but was too sick to work for 3 weeks in December, most of January, and for the past 6 days in March. He is our family's sole breadwinner and I cannot hold down a paid job right now as Alex frequently requires full-time caregiving, daily transportation, and my accompaniment at each of his multiple, weekly clinic appointments.
Alex's current estimated wait time for a new liver from a deceased donor is one year. This wait time might decrease or increase depending on the progression of his liver disease and availability of a compatible liver. Following transplant, recovery time is estimated to be 12 weeks during which he and I will be unable to work.
Needless to say, we are very worried about this extended loss of income, especially at a time when we're experiencing an increase in out-of-pocket medical expenses including special food requirements; medical supplies; and gasoline, food, and occasional lodging costs due to frequent hospitalizations and multi-weekly doctor, lab, and procedure visits to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray 30 miles from our home in Pleasant Grove.
We humbly ask you to donate to our cause so we can keep our beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend alive to enjoy a return to full health, and to support our family until Alex has received his transplant and we can return to steady employment.
Thank you so much for reading this and for helping Alex and our family.
*If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a living donor for Alex, please go to
https://intermountainhealthcare.org/services/transplant-services/become-donor/
The donor must be between the ages of 18 and 55 and be taller than 5 feet 8 inches tall.
Written by his wife, Amy
Alex and Amy Carrasco, 1995 Engagement Photo - Today we are the parents of 3 loving sons who we're crazy about - Max (23), Jack (22) and Adam (14). We live in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Alex is a native of Valparaiso, Chile and proud U.S. citizen of 30 years. He is a software developer and devoted husband and father. Before becoming ill with end stage liver disease, Alex owned a small, weekend business baking and selling Chilean breads, pastries, and empanadas with his eldest son, Max, and loved to sing and play the guitar and piano for audiences large and small, both as a hobby and professionally.
February 2020
"True love is a rare thing," said Craig, my husband's liver transplant nurse and coordinator, as we sat opposite him in a small exam room at Intermountain Medical Center's Murray, Utah liver transplant clinic; Alex in a wheelchair and I in an adjacent seat sitting shoulder to shoulder so we could hold hands. We met Craig a month earlier when Alex's lab results showed he'd reached end stage liver disease significant enough to be considered for transplant.
On this day, Alex looked far too small for the clothes he was wearing due to a sudden and rapid 40 pound weight loss from illness. His legs were weak, thin, and bony from cirrhosis-induced muscle wasting. His usual olive-toned skin was alarmingly pale and slightly yellow from jaundice. He was nauseated, dehydrated and, unbeknownst at the time, on too high a dose of several cirrhosis medications which made him lose strength, mobility, clear-thinking and the ability to work for several weeks.
Alex at hospital before esophageal banding procedure, February 2020At home, we'd moved our bed from the second floor to the first because Alex could no longer use stairs safely. He used a walker to get from the sofa to the bed or bathroom, both just 6-10 feet from the sofa. Even with the walker, he often required me or one of our sons to support him so he wouldn't fall down.
Alex during one of 6 hospital admissions between December 2019 and February 2020
We sat and listened to Craig quietly, both of us utterly exhausted after enduring two frightening months of weekly emergency room visits and hospital stays at two different hospitals 30 miles apart - often in the ICU, including one through the Christmas holiday; and today's three-hour long patient/caregiver training session on cirrhosis, end-stage liver failure, and transplant. This wasn't how we imagined the year of our 25th wedding anniversary would begin.
"It's obvious true love is what you two share," Craig continued then added with firm resolve, "Don't worry. We're going to help you and Alex get your lives back."
Three Years Earlier
One day in 2016 my husband urgently called to me from the bathroom in our West Jordan, Utah home. When I opened the door I found he'd vomited blood and a lot of it. We raced him to the nearest emergency room.
Scans revealed a significant amount of blood pooled in his stomach.
When I asked the ER doctor what caused the internal bleeding, he said some blood vessels in Alex's esophagus burst, most likely due to cirrhosis of the liver.
"Cirrhosis! How could my husband have cirrhosis!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "He's never had a drink in his life!" At the time the only thing I knew about cirrhosis was that it killed Alex's alcoholic father who died of the disease 40 years earlier at age 42.
The doctor explained there is another type of cirrhosis called NASH, which stands for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. NASH is liver inflammation and damage caused by a buildup of fat in the liver. Alex was admitted to the ICU and they drained 3 liters of blood from his stomach.
They said he was lucky to be alive.
In the months and years to come, Alex would go to the hospital 2 to 3 times a year for a painful banding procedure of esophageal varices (blood vessels in the esophagus).
These procedures successfully prevented further bleeding until a second episode occurred 4 years later on December 8, 2019. From that day through late January 2020, Alex nearly lost his life on three separate occasions.
We are so very grateful he is still with us!
Alex when he was most happy. BakingA Call for Help
Without a new liver Alex will not survive.
We are currently blessed to have health insurance that will cover $1.2 million in medical transplant expenses for Alex and a living* or deceased donor.
However, though the Family and Medical Leave Act protects Alex's job for 3 months, it is unpaid leave.
At this writing (March 13, 2020), Alex has 2 weeks remaining of paid time off. He was able to work full time for 3-4 weeks in late February and March, but was too sick to work for 3 weeks in December, most of January, and for the past 6 days in March. He is our family's sole breadwinner and I cannot hold down a paid job right now as Alex frequently requires full-time caregiving, daily transportation, and my accompaniment at each of his multiple, weekly clinic appointments.
Alex's current estimated wait time for a new liver from a deceased donor is one year. This wait time might decrease or increase depending on the progression of his liver disease and availability of a compatible liver. Following transplant, recovery time is estimated to be 12 weeks during which he and I will be unable to work.
Needless to say, we are very worried about this extended loss of income, especially at a time when we're experiencing an increase in out-of-pocket medical expenses including special food requirements; medical supplies; and gasoline, food, and occasional lodging costs due to frequent hospitalizations and multi-weekly doctor, lab, and procedure visits to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray 30 miles from our home in Pleasant Grove.
We humbly ask you to donate to our cause so we can keep our beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend alive to enjoy a return to full health, and to support our family until Alex has received his transplant and we can return to steady employment.
Thank you so much for reading this and for helping Alex and our family.
*If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a living donor for Alex, please go to
https://intermountainhealthcare.org/services/transplant-services/become-donor/
The donor must be between the ages of 18 and 55 and be taller than 5 feet 8 inches tall.
Organizer
Alex Carrasco
Organizer
Pleasant Grove, UT
