Liver Transplant for Marcelin Jurbina

May 2, 2026

(More) New Parts!

As of yesterday, I now have a port in my upper right chest. My veins are pretty much shot now, hardly getting blood return. This will make it a lot easier to receive my treatments and any other infusions (blood, platelets, etc.) I was unable to get it placed before because of higher infection risk after transplant surgery.

Overall, there is light at the end of the tunnel! I started my 8th cycle of chemo last Tuesday. After reviewing my CT scans from mid April, Dr. Sankhala said everything is looking clear and my blood tests are still coming back negative. So... I will have one more cycle after this and then be done with chemo for now! We are hoping everything stays away, but more so giving my body a much needed break from treatments. They will be monitoring me for any signs of reoccurrence and we will act accordingly if/when that happens. In the meantime, we're waiting on approval for some iron transfusions, as I'm still pretty anemic. Hopefully those will keep me from needing more blood/platelet transfusions in the future. From the Transplant team's end, I'm holding stable and looking very good. I'm done with the "surgical" side of things and am now moving in just general monitoring/level testing/etc. (yay!)

Still going to need some time before returning to Equinox so that my immune system can ramp up and reboot. Dr. Sankhala will let me know when my numbers are looking strong enough.

As always, thank you all so much for your support throughout this. As many of you can relate, it is now about "living with//managing" my new terms of life. Though the journey will never really be "over," we are hopefully headed towards my new "normal."

Fingers crossed and stay tuned!

March 18, 2026

Two steps forward, one step back...

As some of you may have heard, I was back in the hospital last week. My hemoglobin and platelet counts drop critically low, so straight to the ER I had to go...

I got blood transfusions of two units and one unit of platelets. I didn't even realize how bad I was feeling until I started to feel WAY better. They kept me overnight for observation. The Liver transplant team and my oncologist were in conversations to figure out what was going on while I basically just was in and out of consciousness. There was nothing else for me to do. I couldn't eat or drink because they didn't know if I'd need scans, etc. But I did get to see a few familiar faces from the surgery team and the staff at the ER & Transplant floor remembered me... which was bittersweet to be there enough for that...

The next day, Dr. Miles (another oncologist that works with mine, Dr. Sankhala) came by and told me that my numbers were holding stable and they think that the mix of my anti-rejection medicines and one of my chemotherapy drugs were causing my bone marrow to not produce enough RBC (red blood cells), since I didn't have any active bleeding anywhere else and I didn't have any spontaneous combustion of RBC happening.

Started my next chemo cycle yesterday. Dr. Sankhala said the same thing re:the hemoglobin and said he is going to monitor me very closely and perhaps schedule me for another transfusion after each cycle and/or give me a shot that helps my production of RBC. He is puzzled about my platelet count, but for now they slightly adjusted both my anti-rejection dosage and my chemo dosage by 25% to see if I have a better reaction this round. I am so grateful to have all the teams keeping an eye on me and staying in communication with one another. I'm also so grateful for science and the incredible medicine that we have available to us in these times that are quite literally keeping me alive.

If you are able, please go donate blood. It's so crucial for so many reasons and the blood banks are always in need. You could save a life (like mine!)

Next set of scans will be mid-April, so hoping for good results there. Also, put in a request to extend my LOA from Equinox until after I'm done with chemotherapy. Fingers crossed to see everyone by summer!

Miss you all!!

February 11, 2026

**Long overdue UPDATE**

So sorry for the delay, everyone. It has been A LOT, to say the least and I have been much more drained than I had anticipated.

I have been tolerating chemo fairly well. Definitely feeling some side effects - fatigue, taste, GI issues, etc. But overall I think I'm doing alright. I find myself sleeping and resting most of my time. My liver numbers were doing well. Got a chest/abdomen/pelvic CT in January. Also get bloodwork done that checks for cancer markers. All things look good and clear for now, which means the chemo is keeping things at bay, as far as we can tell. However, the anti-rejection pills had started to affect my kidney function quite a bit.

I now have a nephrologist and he ordered a renal ultrasound last week to check everything out. Saw him again on Monday and he's fairly positive that the damage to my kidneys is from post-transplant trauma and the anti-rejection pills (which can be expected sometimes), in combination with a hydration issues. So it's going to be a balancing act between my liver meds and my kidney function. He's added extra IV hydration when I go into chemo, which seems to help quite a bit. He's also concerned that the medications have pushed me into a diabetic state (I was normal prior to the surgery 4 months ago) so, I'm going to discuss that with the CTC team tomorrow.

My doctors are all on an active group text chat. So everyone is aware of everything and they are cross checking all decisions with my care plan. My hemoglobin is getting low, so I'm also doing a blood transfusion this weekend because I'm anemic right now. I think that's all my medical updates.

Still avoiding crowds and such, as my immune system is definitely low. I didn't renew my Disneyland AP for now. I am also going to need to extend my medical leave from Equinox until I'm done with chemo - at least through April, if not longer. Just better to be safe than sorry.

I have enough energy for about 1 or 2 private clients a day, max. And of course we cancel or reschedule if anyone isn't feeling well, etc.Thank you all so much for the continuous support! I appreciate everyone checking in on my, even if I don't have the energy to respond. It means so much to me to know you're all still on my side rooting for me!

Wishing everyone the best!

MJ

December 10, 2025

*CHEMO: cycle 1 - check!*

FInished the second round in my first cycle of chemo yesterday. The first round went pretty good. They pump you with Benadryl & steroids before starting the chemo, so I sleep for about an hour at the beginning. Afterwards, I found the roid rage is very real thing! (apologies to my mom, brother..) Then I was extremely tired once I crashed. A little upset stomach for about a day, but overall went into this week feeling pretty good to have that as a jumping off point. I'm told from everyone that the side effects build as you continue further into your treatment so, we'll see where this goes...

Though I am opting out of cold capping, we are using cold socks & gloves to help prevent neuropathy in my hands and feet. It was a bit tricky & my short fuse probably really stressed my mom out the first round, but I could better explain it to Jen (who played the role of my lovely chaperone yesterday) so I think it went a little smoother. Good luck to my dad Christmas week! Once I got home, the fatigue hit me right away, so I mostly slept. Ended up being awake all night from the steroids (cue anxiety, anxiousness, headache - all the fun stuff).

I get a week off from infusion now. Hoping the side effects are still moderate and manageable able, so I can get all my ducks in a row for the holidays... not that I'm doing much of anything.

Next stop, shaving my head!

I'll make a separate post about all things bald & wig related ;)

xx

November 28, 2025

**[post] Turkey Day Update**

After two periods of rejection & hospital stays, my liver #s are looking stable ::thank goodness:: Still having a little fatigue, etc., but generally feeling/doing good.

Another update - kinda big one...While examining my ex-plant (old) liver, they found two tumors that turned out to be Angiosarcoma- a VERY rare, really aggressive blood cancer that has a high recurrence risk.

My oncologist, Dr. Sankhala (THE specialist for this kind of cancer) decided it’s best to be proactive & not wait for it to reappear on scans to start treatment. That said, I'll be starting chemotherapy next week.

My cycle is every 21 days. Not sure how long my treatment is for, yet. The medications I’ll be given are generally well tolerated & I will most likely lose my hair. But that’s okay - it’ll grow back & I like wigs anyway.

I know this is a pretty big bummer, but I'm staying pretty positive mentally. My sister Elyse sent me loads of goodies/supplies - INCLUDING a Disney Princess crochet kit which I'm super excited about!! (TYSM LYSIE!) Let's keep the vibes & energy optimistic & (as my abuelito used to say) Just Keep Going!

Chemo starts Tues, Dec. 2nd - which also happens to be Giving Tuesday! If anyone donates between midnight ET on Tuesday, December 2 and 3 a.m. ET on Wednesday, December 3, Help Hope Live will cover the credit card fee for all donations! And, as always, all donations given through this campaign are 100% tax deductible.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoys the rest of weekend! Sending thanks & love to all of you!

-Marcie (Marcelin, MJ, Marce, Jurbi, etc...)

October 28, 2025

*4 WEEKS POST-OP*

What a crazy month this has been! Lots going on, but I finally have time (slash energy) to post an update.

About a week after getting discharged from CSMC, my labs came back with numbers they didn't like & I was sent back to the hospital. Ran some more tests & the biopsy showed that I had gone into rejection. The Transplant team needed to adjust/administer/monitor my steroids & medications closely. Rejection is a spectrum and actually a very common occurrence. Basically, my body was just like, "hey this isn't my liver," so we had to pivot a little bit.

I've been back home now for a week and half. Labs show my numbers looking more stable, so that's good. The staples and external sutures were removed last Thursday - yay! What a relief that was. I will get more scans later in November and the Transplant team will continue to watch my numbers closely and adjust as needed.

The most disheartening news during all this is that I was unable to travel to my sister's wedding in Hawaii this past weekend. Obviously devastating to miss this once in a lifetime event for her, but the doctors just said there's too many risks & although I probably would have been fine, if anything went wrong it would've been catastrophic. So, my brother & I attended via FaceTime - shoutout to my cousin Milan for being an amazing iPad operator and making sure we were able to witness and have presence throughout the event. It meant so much to all of us.

Anyway... that's pretty much it. I'm up & moving around. Still only allowed to walk - no lifting anything, etc. I am starting to get more ROM (range of motion) throughout my body, but being careful not to overextend, etc. With all the medications, my energy levels are all over the place. I still crash & take a nap pretty much every day. My goal for this month is to really get my posture back. Being pulled forward for all that time has created a 'slump' habit that I am NOT a fan of. Nippin' that head on, real fast.

Thank you again for all of your constant support. I'm slowly gaining back my strength, stamina & social bandwidth. Continuing forward on this journey & can't wait to see you all IRL or on screen as soon as I'm able!

xxx

October 2, 2025

*ONE WEEK POST OP*

I am one week out from my liver transplant and I wanted to give everyone an update. I've out of ICU and all the doctors, nurses, PTs, CPs, etc. are saying "you're doing great!" and "you look so good." I don't know if it's genuine or false encouragement, but either way it's keeping my spirits up.

All my drains are out. I'm starting to deal with gas and pressure mostly around the incision site, which is terribly uncomfortable, but a normal part of the process. I have what they call a "Mercedes" - because it looks like the symbol on the car. Apparently, a liver transplant is one of, if not the biggest surgery you can have. So I keep reminding myself this is not just some little thing that I can shake off and power through.

I'm back on a semi-normal diet (I can't really handle eating that much), walking without a walker, slow but steady. I keep repeating to myself to slow down. To take the meds and stay comfortable. That's why I'm still here. So, taking it day by day.

My family is here with me and I appreciate everyone's support as I continue to just focus on healing and not have to update everyone individually.Thank you all so much!

Stay tuned....

September 27, 2025

It is with incredible gratitude I am posting a major update.

Through the generosity of her community Marcie has successfully received her transplant. Words cannot express a big enough thank you to Jorge Luna and Maeve McCaffrey for making this miracle possible. If this all feels like it happened fast, that’s because it did.

On Tuesday, September 23rd Marcie completed her evaluation and was officially put on the list of eligible recipients for a liver donation. That day she was counseled to expect to remain on the list for years. On Wednesday, September 24th through the extraordinary kindness of Jorge and Maeve, Marcie became the recipient of a direct donor offer and completed her surgery on Thursday September 25th.

Her transplant surgery went well and she is now recovering in the ICU, once she is ready she will be moved to a regular hospital room to continue her recovery. she’s currently on a Leave of Absence from work until further notice. Her return to work timeline is not defined, and will be determined by her progress as she recovers. We expect that to take several months.

We’re so thrilled to share this update that is beyond anything we could have hoped for. Of course, Marcie still has a long road ahead of her. We’d so appreciate if you could continue to share this fundraiser so Marcie has some peace of mind and can focus on her recovery.

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far, sent well wishes, and shared prayers. Updates on Marcie’s recovery will continue to be posted here.

In gratitude,

Abby

September 10, 2025

Finally Discharged from the hospital - Sept. '25 on Labor Day

I went into the ER with some pretty serious concerns - details I will spare because, trust me. They started labs right away and put me on a wide range of antibiotics to cover the bases, since I have no spleen. I was told I was going to be admitted to the hospital that day, but didn't actually get moved upstairs until Tuesday night due to overwhelming capacity at Cedars.

From there, they discovered I had a bacterial Salmonella infection in my bloodstream, on top of a blood clot in my liver itself and likely abscess as well. I had para & thoracentesis done to drain the fluid in my abdomen and chest cavity - which brought tremendous relief. It also showed the bacteria was in the fluid in my samples.

I stayed in the hospital until yesterday (Monday), as they closely adjusted my antibiotics and watched my infection. Since I couldn't leave due to continuous fevers and symptoms, the Liver Transplant team tried to complete as much of my evaluation to get on the transplant list as possible.

I've switched to oral antibiotics and and slowly phasing back to my "normal" life/schedule. Still tying up loose ends with insurance, testing, scheduling, etc. Still utterly exhausted.

Again, I appreciate everyone giving me my space to rest and recover and not be overwhelmed by having to reshare my experiences over and over. You can subscribe to this campaign (no donation necessary) and be notified of when I make an update. I plan to be really transparent with what's going on and no problem with everyone knowing. Just cannot handle the bombardment of contact and questions - even though I know they're all very well intended and come from a place of genuine support.