Help Regina Heal: Donate for Medical Expenses

Hello everyone,

We are reaching out to you to share the story of our sister, Regina, and her family's current journey. Regina was born in the St. Clair County area, to her parents, Steve and Kathie Simasko, who grew up within the community as well. She was born as a twin with her sister Leah, but while Leah grew into a health infant, Regina was soon diagnosed with biliary atresia, a serious condition in which a newborn's bile ducts become blocked or absent, preventing bile from flowing from the liver to the small intestine. In 1995, she became a part of an experimental procedure where her mother donated a portion of her liver to her. This living donor transplant was considered the first of its kind, with no promises or projections made as to how long the liver would last. Simply buying time to give Regina a chance at a long, healthy life. Remarkably, the transplant was incredibly successful, allowing Regina to thrive as a healthy child without using any anti-rejection medications since she was 12 years old.

Today, Regina will be 30 in June, married to her husband Paul for 8 years and are blessed with three beautiful children, including their newest addition, baby Leland, who was born preterm at 35 weeks on December 13th, 2024, due to Regina's pregnancy-related Cholestasis. After spending a small amount of time in the NICU, Leland is now healthy and at home with his dad and other siblings. Regina, however, has faced significant health complications following his birth.

Since Christmas Day 2024, she has battled medical complications, including abscesses on her liver that preempted her long hospital stay and ultimately led to receiving a new liver transplant on March 24th. Thanks to God’s grace and the incredible care and dedication of the staff at Henry Ford Detroit throughout this journey, Regina is now on a path to recovery. The surgery was complex, lengthy, and not without its own challenges, but Regina is now stable in the ICU. She is intubated to help her body rest and facilitate the healing process. However, this path is long, demanding, and expensive after over three months of an already difficulty journey.

This has taken an emotional and financial toll on Regina, Paul, and their children. We are incredibly thankful for the immense support and prayers from our family, friends and community so far, but are looking for needed help to overcome the substantial medical expenses that have collected during this trial.

Any contribution you can make will directly support Regina's recovery and will help alleviate the financial burden on her family while she continues to recover over the next 3-5 months. Your kindness will make a vital difference, helping them move closer to financial stability and supporting their healing as a family.

We’re so grateful for any support you can provide, whether it’s through a donation, prayer or simply sharing Regina’s story with others. Your compassion and generosity are deeply appreciated, more than words can express.

Thank you for taking the time to support Regina’s journey toward healing and stability.

With heartfelt thanks,

The Laskowski and Simasko Family