Martha Saavedra Gregory

Martha is a 73-year-old wife, mother and grandmother living with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

She served in the Air Force, then left the service to begin civilian life working for Bell South in Fort Lauderdale. During that time, she met her husband, David. They’ve been married for 44-years. Martha and David have 5 children, 6 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

Martha’s health struggles began in 2009 when she suffered a brain aneurysm. After emergency brain surgery, over a month in the hospital and another month or so in rehab – she overcame the odds and recovered. She still suffers from memory loss and is not able to live on her own. In recent years, she’s been diagnosed with fatty liver disease, and her quality of life has drastically decreased.

Due to the complications of her illness and the effects of the medications needed to help her liver filter out toxins, she is mostly confined to her home and has also started to lose mobility. Over the past few years, she has been hospitalized numerous times – with most of these hospital visits lasting several nights to get her ammonia levels regulated. Several times she has had to be transported by ambulance.

Thankfully, her service in the military has made it possible for her to receive some VA Medical benefits – however, her services through the VA are limited and she has to rely on private insurance and personal funds to bridge the gap.

She has been approved for a liver transplant and she’s currently on the list to receive a new liver and a new lease on life. Since she has to go through the VA, the closest hospital where she can have the surgery is in Gainesville: two-hours away from her current home in St. Augustine.

The medical team anticipates that she will need to stay in Gainesville for an extended time period while she recovers. They don’t know how long that will be as it will be dependent on her progress, but it could be up to one year. Since she’s unable to live alone and will need 24/7 care during recovery, her husband David will need to stay with her in Gainesville in temporary housing.

She will also have co-pays for her medical care and prescription medications – which she will need to take for the rest of her life.

This fund is being created to assist Martha & David with their travel and living expenses during her recovery, her co-pays for medical care and her prescription medications. As retired senior citizens, they are both living on fixed Social Security income, and they will need help so that they can get her the care she needs without losing their home.

Martha has chosen to fundraise with Help Hope Live because donations are tax deductible for contributors and will only be used to cover medical and related expenses. Martha and her family would greatly appreciate any support you can offer to help her recover and spend her remaining years enjoying her life with her husband, children and grandbabies.

Thank you so much <3