In January of 2023, my husband, Christopher Padgett, got diagnosed with fatty liver disease and he was already almost at stage 4. So we began our journey with VCU in Richmond, VA to be evaluated for a possible transplant. My brother, Christopher Akers, without hesitating, took it upon himself to be evaluated as a possible living donor to help save my husband's life. He restored my faith in humanity and made me realize that God has angels all around us and there are people out there that have the kind of selfless heart and love for other people. I hope one day I can show him how much we appreciate and love him and what he has done for our family.

With that being said, we have had quite a few setbacks. At first, everything went great; he went back to work after 6 months and we thought he was doing great. Back in May of this year, my husband had some issues and became really dizzy. We were sent back to VCU on June 15th where he was hospitalized with high hepatic levels and his bilirubin began to climb, making him yellow. After 5 ultrasounds, 3 MRI tests, 3 liver biopsies, 3 steroid boluses, and 6 rounds of plasmapheresis, he seemed to be doing better. We spent a month and a half in the hospital, 4 and a half hours away from everyone.

On September 20, his bilirubin went up to 19.9, which is the highest it had been even before the transplant. So he has been hospitalized yet again. This time, we had a portal drain placed, which wasn't where they wanted, so they tried a second time and still couldn't get it in. At this time, a piece of guide wire sheared off and remains inside. They went in a 3rd time and went through the biliary duct and nicked a hole in his portal vein, which became scary and kind of life-threatening. They then went in a 4th time and now have it placed where it belongs and is draining. His numbers finally started falling into place, and the Friday after his surgery, he had really bad pain close to his groin. They did an emergency CT scan, and everything looked good and said he had a lot of gas and buildup in his body. He began to get better. I stayed here with him for 2 weeks, and as I headed home so I could go back to work, I got a phone call Monday night, and he had emergent surgery for a hernia that he apparently had the Friday before. Now he is currently still at VCU and recovering, hopefully heading home soon.

The reason I am making a GoFundMe is that I have had several family and friends ask us to make one because they live so far away and want to help. We really appreciate all the love and support from our family, friends, work family, and church family. Love and prayers are all we need, but if you would like to send something, that would be greatly appreciated. May God bless each and every one who takes the time to read this!!!