On November 15, 2022, Wendy, Dan’s wife came out of her bedroom to find Dan very confused and muttering. She tried to get him to move to the sofa, and he became very agitated and he fought against her because he didn’t recognize her. To their inconceivable shock it was determined he was experiencing hepatic encephalopathy and was in stage 4 liver failure. They were told that Stage 4 decompensated cirrhosis of the liver, also known as end-stage liver disease, is associated with a significantly

reduced life expectancy. The prognosis for patients with stage 4 cirrhosis is often poor, with many patients having a life expectancy of less than 1 year without a liver transplant.

We came very close to losing Dan on that day to a Hepatic Encephalopathy Coma. It would then only be a few weeks later, after being stabilized and sent home with weekly outpatient visits to have 10-18 liters of ascites fluid drained from his abdomen that we almost lost him again to a ruptured hernia from the overwhelming amount of fluid that would accumulate at an alarming rate in his abdomen. He was transported by ambulance to Vanderbilt Hospital, 3 hours from home, where they stabilized him and surgically repaired the hernia.

Things continued to spiral downward. He was losing a lot of weight and muscle mass and he continued to get weekly fluid drains of 10-20 pounds. This left his family in a constant state of anxiety.

After going thorough 5 months of rigorous evaluations and tests to determine if he was a suitable candidate Dan was officially placed on the UNOS transplant list in May of 2023.

Several months later we almost lost him again to internal bleeding which landed him at Vanderbilt for a 36-day stay to get him stabilized so he could safely go home. This involved major surgery to control the bleeding and a TIPS procedure which involved putting a shunt in his portal vein and bypassing his liver to prevent further life-threatening bleeds. This TIPS procedure saved his life and allowed Dan more time than even the doctors had anticipated. Life continued to have many high points and low points as we waited for the call that they had a liver match. During the 3 year wait and to give himself the best chance and outcomes when surgery time did come he stayed as active as he possibly could, and he adapted to a no sugar diet, as well as no processed

foods. If the label had more than 3 ingredients he wouldn’t eat it.

On January 4 Dan and his family received the long-anticipated phone call from his Vanderbilt liver team saying they had a perfect match, and he needed tobe at the hospital January 5 th 7am. The transplant took 7 hours and was successful. Dan continues to improve every day. Once he is discharged, they then have to find a place to stay in town for the next 30 days for daily follow ups and bloodwork with his liver team.

Wendy had become the sole provider for the family since Dan's health started to decline in 2022. Wendy is a teacher in a small Christian school and is a beacon of light and love in our community. Students and staff alike adore the Boyd family. Our church has been praying for Dan for months now, and the students all cheer and hug him whenever he is able to stop by for a visit.

Please join us in banding together to help ease some of the financial burdens for this family. Please continue to pray for the Boyd’s as their journey in this new normal has only just begun.