As many of you may know our sister Brenda Crumley Reed has been fighting liver disease for several years. What you may not know is that she is in stage 4 liver failure and she needs a transplant to survive. Thousands of Americans suffer from liver disease and there are approximately 17,000 individuals waiting for a liver transplant. Our sister Brenda is one of them. Our family recently lost our uncle Larry Keeton to this terrible disease and with your help, we hope to have Brenda prepared for a better outcome.

Those of you who know Brenda knows she has always lived an active and positive life despite her health. She has never allowed it to stop her from accomplishing anything she wanted to achieve. She has worked all her adult life. Her attitude and lifestyle helped avoid the inevitable for a very long time, but this past spring she was told by her doctors that her liver function was at 16%. So where are we now in the process? Brenda has the final health clearances that allowed her to be placed on the transplant list. She continues to frequently visit her doctors as they keep a close eye on her health. She is trying to stay positive but realizes the gravity of the challenges ahead of her. Why are we fundraising? Brenda has health insurance, but there are numerous expenses before and after the transplant, many of which her insurance will not cover including the pre-transplant evaluations, and post-op physical therapy and rehab. The life-long anti-rejection medications can cost several hundred dollars a month after insurance.