Our Mother's, Vernise, Liver Transplant Recovery

Hello everyone,


Our mother, Vernise Lupac, was diagnosed with fatty liver disease in fall 2019. Before that, she was already living with Type 2 diabetes and is a multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis survivor. As a hardworking nurse, my mom has dedicated most of her life taking care of others and ensuring that they have attained the best care and support, whether it is in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, and Los Angeles. Unfortunately, she acquired TB from her work back in 2015. Since then, her health has slowly declined, as she was in and out of the hospital for the past six years. Her multiple health conditions for the past six years have affected her physically and emotionally. Despite all this, our family relies on our faith in the Lord and has been willing to serve Him in any capacity as He continues to bless us with many things. 

After receiving her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine**, my mother experienced side effects, which was expected. As the days progressed, we noticed that her side effects were not going away; instead, she experienced other worsening symptoms. Two days later, our mother could not get up from her bed; she did not have any appetite to eat and started to hallucinate. After the third day, our dad decided to send her to the emergency room, which determined that our mom was extremely dehydrated. After conducting tests and monitoring her progress, doctors saw that three of her organs were affected: liver, kidney, and colon. Her liver disease has progressed where the only option was to undergo a liver transplant. Thus, she was sent to a different hospital where she can receive specialized and high-quality care.

In order to be placed on a waiting list for a new liver, she needed to undergo a holistic medical evaluation. After multiple evaluations and various small procedures, our mother was cleared to be placed on a waiting list to receive a new liver. Six days later, God swiftly answered our prayers, and we were notified that a liver donor was available. On Friday, March 26th, 2021, my mother underwent a liver transplant operation, and by the grace of God, there were no complications. As of this moment, she has been at the hospital slowly recovering day by day. 

As happy as we are for this second chance at life my mother has been given, our family struggles to think about the financial costs associated with the transplant and post-care. We already struggle financially ever since my mother stopped working a few years back because of her multiple health conditions. While Medicare pays some of the surgery, there is still a very large co-pay we are required to pay in addition to the medications, appointments, and other expenses associated with post-care. My father already works two jobs at 61 years old, just to make ends meet. As for her children, we are all trying to support our family through the several jobs we hold while two of us balance being in school full-time.

We are setting up this fundraiser to reach out for any support to help with my mother’s post-liver transplant recovery expenses. These will be used for paying my mother’s surgery co-pay, medications, and other costs that come along with post-recovery. When my mother comes home, my mother will require 24-hour comprehensive care, and so there is a possibility that one of us will lose our income streams to care for our mother.

Our mother is our rock. She is the one that ties our family together. All our mother ever wanted to do throughout our lives was to give her children a great life. While we constantly struggle financially, the sacrifices our parents made to move to the US to unleash our full potential and have access to limitless opportunities is already the life we could have ever imagined. This is an extremely difficult time for us, but we are so grateful that the Lord has extended our mother’s life so that she can experience the benefits of all the sacrifices she made for us.

Thank you, in advance, for helping us, whether that is financial and/or continuing to pray for my mother’s health.

If you would like to contribute via Venmo, you can send it to Dome 's venmo: @Domelupac. 

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you and we appreciate it. 

Sincerely, 
Dome, Hermi, and Ingga
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Disclaimer: ** We are not discouraging others from taking the COVID vaccine. My mother had multiple comorbidities and a weakened liver prior to the pandemic. We truly believe in science and the vaccine is a powerful tool to combat COVID-19.