Hello, my name is Lori Navarro. I created this account on behalf of my husband David Navarro. In October of 2016 my husband began to come home from work swollen in both his legs as well as his abdomen.  With not having known the severity of what these symptoms may be related to, his health quickly began to deteriorate and by that December we were informed that David had Cirrhosis of the liver stage 4. Without being medically trained myself I had no clue what we were even up against.
From what I could comprehend after several explanations was that my husband's liver at the age of 38 was damaged so severely that it was at the point where it could no longer repair itself and David would soon need a liver transplant to save his life. 
Soon after having been diagnosised With liver failure he became extremely tired and fatigued having come down with jaundice and several other symptoms where it was extremely difficult for him to stand for long periods of time and he would sleep throughout most of the day.  He began to get ascites where we went twice a week to have the fluid drained from his abdomen to try and provide some type of comfort that would allow him to breath easier once the fluid was removed. By January of 2017 David became wheelchair bound as the fluid he retained was so excessive it hurt to stand and his legs and feet grew increasingly heavy. 
If you know my husband you know at the ripe age of 38 he was very independent and liked to do things on his own without asking anyone for help. This strong trait that he possessed has shown me in the 11 years we have been married in many ways to keep pressing forward and not give up even if it seems like the easier thing to do. 
Prior to knowing David's condition we had just moved into our new home on January 1st 2017 and sadly 8 days later my brother would pass of a massive heart attack at the age of 41. Our life as we knew it had just turned upside down. The house we purchased now had stairs that climbing for David would not be in his near future .
After traveling to Northern California to bury my brother in February we began the work up for David to be listed on the transplant list. February 10,2017 would be his last day worked at Kaiser Permanente as a surgical technologist. His hepatologist placed him on disability due to his health no longer allowing him to be able to perform such duties he once so easily could. 
By April 2017 David became hospitalized and we had to make the choice to be listed in California for a liver transplant or go out of state which we were told they transplant quicker. The choice was hard to make but we didn't have time. It was either watch my husband play Russian roulette each day we stayed in California and waited to get a transplant or go out of state and leave our three children behind. The choice wasn't easy but it was the one that saved his life. 
April 25,2017 David was stable enough to fly to Alabama. On May 12, 2017 David received his first liver transplant. Yes your correct you read first. The liver unfortunately would not work as the surgeons and all of us had hoped for. David had many complications and was transplanted a second time on July 6. On July 28th they would remove his spleen.  Since May 10th my husband has been hospitalized at the University of Alabama where the surgeons have been working non stop to save my husband's life. This hospital is absolutely phenomenal. They truly leave no stone left unturned. Fast forward a year and here we are still in Birmingham Alabama working desperately to get back home to our children 9,11, and 17. We never imagined we would need to sale our home and I would  be laid off also working for Kaiser Permanente myself because I was unable to return to work after a year. I came to Alabama with my husband and I'm not leaving here without him. He has lost a lot of muscle mass and remains on a feeding tube with assistance for his respiratory issues. We hope to be able to get him stable enough to be able to fly back home and resume therapy in hopes he will be able to walk again someday soon. 
This page was created to share our journey and help raise funds for our family during this very difficult time in our lives. We did raise enough to close off our dinning room downstairs to keep as a room for David as we knew when we returned he would not be able to climb up the stairs but we ultimately had to make the choice to sale the property in December as we are now currently unemployed where I have been living at a hotel and my husband is still currently at uab hospital. 
Any funds raised would go towards helping pay for insurance premiums that we cover privately now that we are unemployed. Being residents of California the Medicaid health coverage does not cover out of state transplants and being that we are already here so I have to pay for a plan separately for him. I  wanted to share our journey and bring awareness to liver disease and remind all of you that David is one of God's many miracles. While I will never know why this is the path the Lord chose for our family I trust that he will restore David's health and we will return to our children in California very soon.
Thank you everyone for your prayers .