Theresa's Tremendous Gift of Life for Tina

In June of 2018, Tina was diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer, cholangiocarcinoma. To say our family was shocked, was an understatement. The devastation that hit our family was like nothing you could ever imagine. Our mother, our rock, was fighting deadly cancer. Her amazing doctor at Roswell Cancer Institute, Dr. Reddy, made the recommendation to go to the best place in the world for Bile Duct cancer, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. At Mayo, they confirmed what Dr. Reddy prepared us for, my mom needs a liver transplant. Upon many visits to Mayo, we knew we had two options: a deceased donor or a living donor.
Many, many, many family members applied to donate, but no one was a match, so we prayed. Little did we know how we had 2 angels, Jen and Theresa, working behind the scenes. In February, we were notified there was a possible living donor who was heading to Mayo to be confirmed as a match. If we thought we were shocked before, this was an even bigger shock!
Theresa discovered she was a good donor candidate after seeing a shared Facebook post from Jen (my husband’s sister). She met all the criteria, went through massive amounts of testing at the Mayo Clinic, and has become a family friend through our shared connection of hope and love. When she was confirmed as a match, she thoughtfully enlisted the help of Disney to share the news with my mom.
Theresa will be undergoing major surgery to donate a portion of her liver. She will be out of work for up to 12 weeks. Her travel, lodging, meals, and expenses associated with the transplant are not covered by insurance, but that has not stopped this determined, selfless hero. Funds donated will be used to make up for Theresa's lost wages and expenses mentioned above. If there is money donated over what we outlined, the money will then be applied to my mother's travel, lodging, and expenses. Any money after that will be donated back to the Mayo Clinic.