Leslie Styers

Help Leslie Get a Liver!

Hi my name is Leslie Styers. I am 53 years old, I am a wife, mother and sister. I’m a very fun loving person who loves the outdoors and spending time with my family. My favorite hobbies are singing gospel music at church, retirement homes or on the AM Radio Station in King with my husband. Trips to Stone Mountain State Park to feed the deer and eat at our favorite restaurant is by far my favorite things to do. In my life I have suffered a lot of loss. I lost my mother in 2010 due to a brain tumor. My husband and I have four kids, three sons and one daughter. We suffered the loss of two of our sons in the span of 8 years. About a year and a half after our oldest son died I found out I had stage 3 liver failure due to non alcoholic fatty liver, cirrhosis. In just the first year of my diagnosis I was hospitalized 10 times, and was put in the ICU on three different occasions at two different hospitals. While in ICU doctors explained that I was now in end stage liver failure and I would need a miracle to save my life, that I would have a year or two at best. Nobody ever wants to hear those words or hear a time clock be put on their life.. I believe only God knows when its my time.
Having liver failure I have to go to the hospital two times a week and have a needle inserted into my stomach to drain the fluid sitting in my abdomen. In September of 2022 my father passed away due to heart complications. Compared to how my life used to be things have changed drastically. My mobility is severely limited, I can’t get around on my own without the help of my daughter or husband and I always have to use my walker or wheelchair to get around. My weeks consist of hospital and doctors appointments four and five days a week, testing, blood work, fluid draining, mental healthy therapy and physical therapy so I can gain my strength and muscle mass back. I now have to depend on my family to cook for me, help me bathe and get around. My life is no longer full of the enjoyment and excitement that it used to be. I want nothing more than to have my independence back and be able to chase my grandkids around the house, instead I am confined to being out of breath and constantly tired and having to stay sitting or laying for part of my day. It wasn’t until July of 2023 that I was referred to Duke University Liver Clinic, while I was there I got to meet people just like me, the doctors were so much better than my family or I had been used to, they treated me with dignity and respect and made me feel comfortable to be there. I knew I was in the best place I could be for treatment. My doctors had given my family and I hope…hope we had almost given up on for another chance at life. Now I fight everyday to get out of bed and thank God for letting me see another day, even though I feel terrible and tired and some days I want to give up I know I have to fight to get on the transplant list. We’ve taken all the steps and done everything the doctors and social workers have asked and now my second chance at life rides on having enough money to get me to the finish line. Due to my husband having a heart condition and health problems he can not hold a job, I am lucky enough to be on disability but it is barely enough to pay my bills. My daughter gave up her job to become my caregiver around the clock so money has been extremely tight in our home. Help Hope Live has given us a better chance to get me on the transplant list with the help of donors. Anything that is donated is GREATLY appreciated and means the world to me and my family!