Chrissy PHighter Fund

Four years ago, Chrissy received a diagnosis of PH (Pulmonary Hypertension). It is a rare disease causing high blood pressure between heart and lungs. This is how she first became a patient at Mayo Clinic in 2016. There were many problems since 2016, but somehow we still managed.

Things changed with Chrissy's diagnosis of Sepsis at our local hospital. She spent 255 days in the hospital in 2018. Sepsis caused Endocarditis, an infection damaging her heart's Aortic Valve. She "coded" twice and had a major blood loss from a procedure losing most of her blood. She went into multi-organ failure, including the heart, liver and kidneys, and she needed a transplant, but Sepsis excluded her as a transplant candidate, because the transplanted organs would be affected by Sepsis.

In November, 2018, we were told that there was nothing else they could do and we should get hospice. She was only 34 at the time and Chrissy had no intention of giving up and neither were we! Rather than hospice, we brought her home, but continued to go to the hospital daily for IV antibiotics. On March 18, 2019, we finally got word that she was Sepsis free!!

We then returned to Mayo to potentially get a liver, and possibly, a kidney transplant. They determined that the Aortic Valve was a lower priority, because it functioned. Her evaluation was more in-depth, due to the PH and Sepsis history. She arrived at Mayo, April 22, 2019 and had some very scary times. The liver failure was getting severe and she was running out of time. Her options were limited and she agreed to take a high-risk liver (HEP B, HEP C, CMV, etc.), if necessary. A high-risk liver adds a 25% greater chance of getting a transplant and Chrissy agreed to it, because those diseases are treatable and she had little time (doctors said only a few weeks).

On November 11, 2019, Chrissy received her new liver and we knew it was a high-risk organ! She was up and walking and off oxygen the next day! On December 4, 2019, she came home. Life was good, and although we knew she would potentially have problems with the liver, everything looked up and Chrissy was making plans for the future.

Part of the post-transplant process is getting weekly labs. In March, the Liver Team at Mayo called her in to have a biopsy. They thought she had a DILI (drug-induced liver injury) due to some of her medications. After months of testing, she had another biopsy where special "slides, smears, and stains" were sent to Mayo at Rochester. The final conclusion is that CMV from the liver donor caused rejection. CMV, for anyone else, is mild and usually not an issue. Most people do not know they have it or have ever been exposed to it. CMV for transplant patients can be fatal, because it is similar to Sepsis and attacks the organs.

This is where we are today, trying to keep CMV dormant. It will always be there, but as long as it is not active, she is okay. It was detected in her labs again on September 15, 2020 after being dormant for several weeks. She returns to Mayo for further testing and the Liver Transplant Team will give us an update Treatment Plan. They are doing everything they can to save this liver!


Please help my daughter, Chrissy Scruggs, to give her a "phighting" chance! She is in dire financial need! Chrissy has paid for everything she could, using up all her savings and maxing out her credit cards. She is currently on Social Security Disability. My wife and I borrowed and withdrawn as much from our 401K as allowed and used up everything we have. 

Thanks for taking the time to read about Chrissy's fight with PH, Sepsis, Liver Transplant and post-transplant. Any donation in any amount will make a difference. Words of encouragement and prayers are most welcome! All donations go directly to Chrissy to help her fight.