George is the kind of person who turned his second chance into a lifeline for others, and now he urgently needs help to save his own. After losing his wife in 2020, he fell into a deep depression and began drinking heavily, a struggle that continued until he entered Stepping Stone In-Patient Rehabilitation Center in September 2024 with a MELD score of 20. The MELD score is a numerical scale ranging from 6 to 40 used to assess the severity of chronic liver disease, and determine their priority for a liver transplant. The higher the score, the sicker the patient and the more urgent their need for transplant. At a score of 15, a person becomes eligible for transplant, and at 40 the liver has completely failed. Through treatment, community, and a fierce commitment to sobriety, George rebuilt his life, and by six months sober his MELD score had dropped to thirteen, meaning he no longer needed a transplant. He stayed active in his AA program, served on the Stepping Stone alumni committee, earned his Peer Support Counseling certificate, and began working for the Amity Foundation at Donovan State Prison, helping others rebuild their lives just as he had rebuilt his own. Fourteen months sober, in mid November 2025, he began feeling that something was wrong but could not identify what it was. On December first, after visiting a friend in Fallbrook, he trusted his instincts and checked himself into Scripps Mercy in Hillcrest, where he learned that his MELD score had skyrocketed from thirteen to thirty one, placing him in active liver failure and in urgent need of a transplant. Since then he has been in and out of the hospital while his medical team works to complete the approvals required to place him high on the transplant list.

Before any patient can be listed, transplant centers require a reliable care team—people who know the patient well and can commit to supporting them through the overwhelming demands of transplant. These caregivers help manage medications, monitor symptoms, provide transportation to constant lab work and appointments, and offer daily support before, during, and long after the surgery. This requirement is the only hurdle keeping George from being placed on the list, and once his care team is fully assembled and approved, he will be placed at the top due to the severity of his condition. George has expressed a deep desire to compensate the people who will be stepping into these roles, recognizing the time, energy, and personal commitment they must make to help him survive this process. The sudden loss of income and the cost of basic living expenses have already put his housing at risk, and without stable housing and a committed care team he could face delays or barriers to receiving the transplant he needs to stay alive. This fundraiser will help George maintain housing, cover essential expenses, support the caregivers who will be helping him through this journey, and allow him to stay stable throughout the transplant process and recovery. George has spent the last year and a half giving back to his community and supporting others in their most vulnerable moments. Now he needs us to help him through his own. Every donation, share, and act of support brings him one step closer to the life saving care he needs.