WILLIAM NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!
William’s journey with liver disease began in 2021, when he developed blood clots in the vessels going to his liver. These blood clots were not discovered for quite awhile, by the time they were, they had caused complete cirrhosis of the liver. Because the entire liver is affected, a complete liver transplant is the only option.Because the liver isn’t working correctly, the ammonia that is normally filtered out of the blood is not in William’s body. The ammonia makes the blood toxic, and causes many other symptoms, including in William’s case hepatic encephalopathy (HE). HE causes “sundowning” similar to dementia and causes balance problems and weakness.In 3 years time, William has gone from working full time, camping and doing archery with our medieval reenactment group (The Society of the Middle Ages), and working with a local wrestling promotion, to having to use a cane to walk and having assistance with normal daily activities.We are working with a wonderful team at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis for transplant services. They have worked hard with us to keep William “healthy” enough until he was ready for transplant. Now’s the time, and we are asking for your help with expenses not covered by insurance, and most importantly, we are asking for your prayers!Williams family and friends are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live in honor of William, to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with a Transplant. William has chosen to fundraise with Help Hope Live in part because donations are tax deductible for contributors and will only be used to cover medical and related expenses.We have chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses.To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the GIVE button. And please share William’s campaign page on your social media platforms. Every donation helps.For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.Thank you for your support!
Updates (3)
October 21, 2024
We got the call! On Saturday October 19th, late afternoon the phone rang and they said “it’s time!”Surgery was on Sunday morning-lasted about 8 hours. He went to ICU from there. Today, Monday, he’s still in the ICU, but is up in a chair, the breathing tube is out. He’s still got a g-tube and several IV’s, but he’s talking and not horribly uncomfortable. PT has already been here and having him standing with a walker. They will start walking tomorrow. Will be in hospital for about a week-10 days. Then they will let us know if we can go home or need to stay in a rehab place for awhile
October 13, 2024
It’s been a couple weeks of ups and downs. Currently, Bill is at number 4 on the list for his blood type. We go back to Barnes Wednesday for another MRI and a pulmonary test and a follow up with the doctors. He is having trouble with balance and communication, which means that his ammonia levels are going up. We’ll see what the doctors say Wednesday.
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Guestbook
October 10, 2024
Prayers and love from Ohio!
Becky Pummell
