September 11, 2019

Hi friendsI I am grateful to be at home recovering. My liver and kidneys are working great!! I am weak and fatigued due to low hemoglobin (and probably the chemo). My drs are working on it and I’ve felt a little better the past few days. Thanks t all of you for your generosity. The meals provided are helping me get stronger, Jeff has been putting accommodations like handrails etc in the house for me. I’ve graduated from weekly check ups to every other week at Hopkins!, and just 1 blood draw instead of 2 per week. Progress!!! I’m looking forward to continuing to do more as I get stronger - thank you all for your prayers and well wishes

August 9, 2019

Hi friends. Had another check up at Hopkins today. Recovery going more slowly than I’d like but seems to be in line with what’s “normal” post transplant

April 28, 2019

Hello everyone,

Tammie wants to thank you all for your prayers and well wishes because she said she can literally feel the love being sent her way. Tammie has been back in Hopkins since last Wednesday and is currently in the MICU. She can have visitors as well. She was put on dialysis as her kidneys are also beginning to fail now. They will be keeping Tammie there now until she receives her new liver & she is NEXT ON THE LIST YAY!!

She won’t be answering texts or calls as she is just too weak and doesn’t feel well understandably. She wanted everyone to know that within a few weeks after her transplant, she will be able to answer all your Facebook messages and texts and calls. Please continue to pray for her and her family, but she says in the meantime, assume that “no news is good news”!!

Again, she sends her thanks & love to everyone for their continued prayers and well wishes!

Thanks so much for everything you all have done,

Debbie Miller

March 19, 2019

Sometimes even cancer has a silver lining.

That’s what my drs told me 1/29/19 when I was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma - primary liver cancer.

The good news is the Network for Organ Sharing has a protocol in place for people that need livers and get cancer. My treatment already began, and 5

More months of tests and procedures should

Make me eligible for a liver transplant. Hopkins is not actively testing for living donors for me at this time.

Please pray for my children and husband who work so hard and are heartbroken. They are all that matters to me.

February 24, 2019

I’m glad to be at home tonight. I will be returning to Hopkins for another procedure Tuesday

I still do not know if I will receive a a partial liver from a live donor, or if I need to wait longer for a cadaver liver. Currently we are not seeking potential donors for testing.

February 19, 2019

Heading to Hopkins for surgery Thurs. Just 1 night stay. I appreciate any prayers

January 28, 2019

Hello Family & Friends of Tammie Mathias,

In our last update we mentioned the new aspect of end stage liver disease that Tammie has been dealing with, which is Ascites (fluid collecting in the abdomen due to ESLD). Once again, Tammie went into AGH this past Friday to have this fluid drained. AGH did her labs which showed that Tammie's hemoglobin was only a 6.5, which then dropped to a 5.9....the minimum should be 12!! Due to this, Tammie needed a transfusion, but because of antibodies, she cannot get blood products at the local hospital. Because her hemoglobin was dropping so fast, they doctors were concerned she was having a fast bleed somewhere and decided to medivac her to Johns Hopkins ICU for the needed care.

Her doctors at JH stabilized Tammie Friday through yesterday (Sunday 1/27). Today, 1/28, they did an endoscopy and found the spots that were bleeding and did the banding procedure and glued them to stop the blood loss.

We are hoping Tammie will get to go home tomorrow barring any further complications. As always, please keep Tammie and her family in your prayers and continue to spread the word that she is in critical need of a living liver donor.

Thank you all so much for your continued support and outpouring of love. We will update everyone again soon!

Kindest Regards,

Debbie Miller

January 5, 2019

Hello friends and family of Tammie Mathias!!

As of this week, Tammie has begun to deal with a new aspect of ESLD, which is a condition called ascites.

What is ascites?

Ascites is a condition in which fluid collects in spaces within your abdomen. If severe, ascites can be extremely painful. The problem may keep you from moving around comfortably. Ascites can set the stage for an infection in your abdomen, which of course can be life threatening. Fluid may also move into your chest and surround your lungs. This makes it very hard to breathe. The most common cause of ascites is cirrhosis of the liver.

There is no cure for this condition, except a new liver. So in order to manage this new aspect of her disease, her doctors will be removing large amounts of fluid from Tammie’s abdomen through a needle on an ongoing basis as needed.

This brings us to the urgent call to find a living donor. Now more than ever, Tammie desperately needs to find a match. She remains in contact with the transplant unit at Johns Hopkins, but they are not authorized to give detailed information as far as where they are in the process of finding a living donor. They can merely inform her that they continue to “work their hardest to find a donor”.

If you are still interested in being evaluated as a potential donor, please call the Liver Transplant Unit at Johns Hopkins directly at 1-443-287-9648 and ask to speak to Kathie Lee or any nurse working in the unit.

Tammie thanks all of you for your continued support and outpouring of love! She feels truly blessed by everything each and everyone of you have done on her behalf. Feel free to reach out to her & connect on Facebook to see how she is doing. She also visits this site on a regular basis and enjoys reading all your sweet messages and well wishes left for her here as well!!

Kindest regards,

Debbie Miller

November 26, 2018

New Update!

The success from my previous post was short lived. Back to infusions that don’t hold long and frequent endoscopies and banding. The infusion center gave me some tips today to help treat the bone pain and hopefully have a positive outcome from this series.

The Transplant team at Hopkins can give me NO information where they are in the process, just that they are “working their hardest” to find a donor. If anyone is still interested in being tested for possible eligibility, please call the number on my FB profile.

If you are interested in contributing to my fund for “Giving Tuesday” I am grateful for any support

Thank you, sincerely, Tammie

October 10, 2018

Today is a day with all POSITIVE updates!!

No donor yet but the infusion therapy is helping my anemia! Last week when I had a procedure at Hopkins (which I have every 1 - 2 months) the dr said I did not need to return for 6 months!! That is the first time in 1 1/2 years!!

I am grateful for my drs, all of you for your support, and especially for Deborah Shae Miller who has generously given of her time to keep these updates going when I have been too sick to do so.

I appreciate you all spreading the word. I still need a transplant but fortunately have 2 people that can be tested when Hopkins schedule allows. Thank you !

September 18, 2018

Hello friends & family of Tammie Mathis!!

Tammie started a new infusion therapy yesterday. Hopefully these infusions, along with her banding procedure scheduled for Oct 2 at Hopkins, will alleviate the anemia for a longer period of time.

Tammie thanks each one of you for your continued prayers and well wishes. A special thank you to those that have generously taken a blood test in hopes of finding a match!

On another note, Tammie wanted to be clear with everyone that Johns Hopkins does not communicate AT ALL with her about potential donors, and she is not at liberty to call the transplant unit on their behalf. This is for the obvious reasons of maintaining the utmost privacy and confidentiality of any potential donors.

Johns Hopkins maintains the highest of standards in regard to any type of transplant, whether the donation comes from a deceased person, or in this case, from a living donor.

Please continue to pray that a match is found for our friend Tammie, and also please consider donating to this campaign so that when a match is found, the donor’s expenses are covered in full!

Thank you all,

Debbie Miller

August 27, 2018

Hello everyone,

This is Tammie’s friend, Debbie Miller, with an update on how things are going.

Two weeks ago, Tammie was fortunate enough to get a reprieve from all the doctors appointments, testing and infusions. Her and her daughter Crow took a trip to a week long summer camp in Tennessee for young teens and their parents. This fun, exciting & replenishing experience was so good for Tammie’s soul. It gave her much needed one on one time with her 14 year old daughter, as well as a chance to just have fun participating in awesome outdoor activities & experience new things, like witnessing wild bears in their natural habitat!

This past week, Tammie and her family were busy helping her son James prepare to head off to UMBC! On Saturday (8/25), James embarked on the next chapter of his life and was moved into his new housing on campus. This, of course, is very exciting for a young man, and very bitter sweet for his parents. Tammie and Jeff are so very proud of their son, but will miss him terribly!

However , this does translate to a silver lining as far as Tammie’s future appointments at Johns Hopkins Hospital. UMBC is just minutes away from JHH, so when she is over there taking take of doctors appts, exams, and other testing, she will ALSO be able to stop by for visits with her son!

Tammie said the month of August was

filled with focusing on good (but hard) things with her kids, which is all she really wanted to do anyway :)

Some very encouraging news is that currently there are four people who have had their blood tests done and are still waiting to hear back from the transplant unit at JHH on what the next step will be! This gives Tammie so much hope & she feels such gratitude towards everyone who has come forward to be tested as a potential donor.

As more information regarding the current potential donors becomes available, we will update all of you!

That’s it for now folks, but again, Tammie sends her love and gratitude to all of you for your kinds words of love & encouragement, your generous monetary donations to this campaign and for considering becoming a living donor :)

August 6, 2018

Hello everyone - I just wanted to add this new information that I obtained today :) People that would like to be tested can call Kathie Lee at 443-287-9648 on the transplant unit at JHH. She will do an initial on paper brief medical screening, then the potential donor can go to any lab to have the initial blood work done.

Mary Kaiser is also part of the team - every donor works with her at some point but she doesn’t have to be the first call, so feel free to speak with Kathie Lee :)

I did find out that the social workers and other employees on the unit CAN return phone calls!  They just can’t make initial contact :)

If you haven’t received calls back it’s because both were out of the office last week, but both are now back! Thank you all again for everything you have done and for your continued prayers and support!

Love you all, Tammie

August 4, 2018

So here is an update folks regarding Tammie Mathias’s current condition. This is her friend Debbie Miller and I told her I would post this update for her :). It is common that when one organ fails, others follow, which is what she had to hear this past week at the endocrinologist office. Now along with ESLD (End Stage Liver Disease), her pancreas is failing and she has been diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic.

Tammie will be put on an insulin pump that she wears all day everyday 24/7. She did have another procedure at Hopkins on Tuesday which was a banding of the varices in her abdomen and they cauterized a large portion of her stomach - both of these procedures are to reduce or stop her internal bleeding. She is still experiencing gastric bleeding though :(. Another complication Tammie is experiencing is a condition known as HE. Hepatic Encephalopathy is a condition that causes temporary worsening of brain function in people with advanced liver disease. When your liver is damaged it can no longer remove toxic substances from your blood. These toxins build up and can travel through your body until they reach your brain, causing mental and physical symptoms of HE. This causes confusion, dizziness, extreme fatigue and sleepiness, anxiety, forgetfulness, disorientation & many other physical & mental (emotional) symptoms. So unfortunately, my friend is slowly losing more & more independence. Her life is becoming less and less normal with each passing week! We know that a match for Tammie is out there, we just need to get the word out that NOW MORE THAN EVER she is in dire need of a living liver donor. Please donate to her campaign if you feel compelled to & also anyone interested in more info on being a living donor, contact the transplant unit @ JHH at 410-614-2819 & potential donors can speak with any available social worker on the transplant unit. Also Please be aware that potential donors can get the initial blood work done locally, but I believe Hopkins does require folks to see them for the rest of the testing - but the person you can call is Mary Kaiser OR ANY available social worker in the transplant center for better information - Marys info is: 410-614-2819 (main # for transplant unit) Mkaiser2@jhmi.edu. Thank you friends!!

August 1, 2018

Hello friends, Just a quick update - the banding procedure went well at Hopkins today.

The Doctor banded 3 varices, cauterized a good portion of my stomach, doubled one of my meds and I'll go back for the same in September & October.

I'll do another round of iron infusions and hope that the bleeding stops.

Love you all, thanks again for all

the care and support!

July 26, 2018

Started infusions again today - Hopkins is fitting me in for another surgical procedure Tues. Thank you all for all you have done. PleAse continue to share so that I can find a donor ASAP. Thank you!

July 23, 2018

Hello there - I just wanted to take some time to say a big THANK YOU to everyone that’s reached out so far. You all have blown me away with your kind words and generous donations to my campaign! Please keep in mind that spreading the word is of the utmost importance, as a transplant is the ONLY answer. Despite my recent medical procedures, my internal bleeding won’t stop and I’m weaker & more tired each day and need help with day to day general responsibilities- things like did I call everyone I needed to today, have I completed everything for my sons upcoming college departure, have I mailed everything I’m supposed to?? I know it seems like simple stuff, but I forget everything so easily now and I get confused despite writing things down and trying to keep a list. I really feel I need an accountability partner of sorts....someone (or a few different folks) who doesn’t mind making an occasional phone call or dropping by for a quick visit to touch base and help keep me on track :)

I start weekly iron infusions again on Wednesday July 25th

- they’ll probably be continual since my iron levels will not hold steady while my stomach and varices continue to leak blood. Thank you all again for your continued thoughts, prayers & support in continuing to spread the word for the need for a donor.

July 7, 2018

Update # 2

THANK YOU to everyone for spreading the word, inquiring about becoming a donor, and for generously contributing. I’m humbled and hopeful seeing how you care.

Just FYI - I do NOT know if you inquire about testing to be a donor as that is completely confidential between the donor and their transplant team. So if you WANT me to know, please tell me so I can properly thank you!! Thanks again

www.hopkinsmedicine.org

June 21, 2018

IF YOU COULD SAVE A LIFE, WOULD YOU?

Dear Family and Friends: I am in End Stage Liver Disease, and need to find a living liver donor, quickly. This year alone over 41,000 people will die waiting for a new liver.

End Stage symptoms I have currently are: internal bleeding (creating severe anemia), debilitating fatigue (unable to complete a normal day), portal hypertension, hepatic encephalopathy. Other issues can be the serious threat of sepsis , kidney damage and liver or pancreatic cancer. I have procedures at Hopkins every other month to help with the bleeding, receive infusions and take many medications but the only cure is a transplant. Cirrohsis is a silent killer, usually found incidentally (as mine was in 2015. My liver enzymes have been elevated since I was a teen, but since I did not have the usual causes (hepatitis, cancer, alcoholism, or a genetic disease) it was written off by drs as an anomaly.

How can you help? Please share this campaign far and wide - we never know who might be touched and be a willing donor.

Learn about being a living donor here: www.hopkinsmedicine.org

A donor Liver regrows to full size in both donor and recipient in about 3 months!!

Johns Hopkins Hospital will pay every cent of the donor's medical expenses for surgery. Additionally there are grants to help cover costs of temporarily staying near the hospital, meals, caretaker expenses, travel etc. I am personally fundraising to pay for any costs a donor could incur that isn't covered. We want to assure the donor that they will not endure any financial hardship.

In summary, if you feel inclined to help, here are some ways:

1. Spread this page to your social media contacts, friends, family etc

2. Contact Johns Hopkins Hospital if you are interested in more info about organ transplantation

3. Financially contribute to this campaign

4. Contact me if you or your business is interested in helping with fundraising or in anyway.

We have kept many things private in hopes I would have already found a donor. 2 special people came all the way from Nevada but were not matches.

As much as I hate to ask for your help, I must - for me, but primarily for my beautiful children. Very sincerely, Thank you, Tammie