Help My Sister Heal: A Journey of Hope After Liver & Kidney Transplant

My sister Tammy is our family’s hero.

I never imagined I’d be writing something like this.

Tammy is the kind of person who lights up a room with her smile, who puts others before herself, and who never complains — even when life has given her every reason to. Her body was failing her, but her spirit never did. Over the past 9 years, she’s faced a battle that no one should have to fight: end-stage liver and kidney failure, due to Polycystic Kidney Disease. Her only chance of survival was a dual organ transplant.

The wait for a donor and watching her health decline has been agonizing and heartbreaking. She went from being active and full of life and laughter to spending her days in hospitals, dialysis treatments on machines three days a week, waiting for a miracle, and through it all, she still smiles. She still says “I’m okay” even when she’s not. After only being on the Live Donor's list since August of this year, that miracle came to us — A donor match for both her liver and kidney.

Transplant surgery's comes at the blink of an eye and at a moments notice, and Tammy received that miracle call for her transplant on October 1st. While this has been long and grueling, she made it through the first portion of the liver transplant, returning the next morning for the final round with the kidney transplant. Her hospital stay is going to be a month long at best.

Post-transplant life is filled with many challenges. Every day brings new challenges — medications to prevent rejection, constant lab work, follow-up appointments, and the emotional toll of starting over. The cost of this journey is overwhelming and quite staggering. Insurance has been very minimal, but it doesn’t cover everything. Our family is doing everything we can, but we need help to make sure she gets the care she needs to heal at her second chance in life and survive.

That’s why I’m asking for your help.

We’re asking for your support. If you know my sister, you know how deeply she loves, how fiercely she fights, and how much she deserves this second chance. If you don’t know her, I hope you’ll see the strength in her story and the hope in her heart. If you’ve ever loved someone so deeply that you’d do anything to take away their pain, you’ll understand why this means everything to me and my family. My sister deserves to live this wonderful second chance. She’s fought so hard to stay alive. She deserves to heal without the weight of financial fear. She deserves to feel the love of a community that believes in second chances.

Every donation — no matter the size — helps lift a piece of the burden. It allows her to focus on healing instead of worrying. It helps our family stay strong, and most of all, it helps remind her that she’s not alone on her journey.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring. And thank you for being part of her journey back to life. Your generosity means more than words can express.