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My name is Jane Koza. I am 58 years old. I went from being a healthy adult to living in a nursing home by age 50. This is my story. I was an all-star athlete in my youth, playing basketball and softball competitively. During my senior year of high school, we won the state championship […]

As she experienced end-stage renal failure, Frances V. Gilmore endured 10 hours of dialysis every night to stay alive. She began fundraising with Help Hope Live in May 2012 for a lifesaving kidney transplant. She is the fourth and final winner of our 2017 Touched by Transplant “New Life” Contest in recognition of April’s Donate […]

Patrick McEntee is waiting for a lifesaving heart transplant and is fundraising for transplant-related expenses via the Help Hope Live Great Lakes Heart Transplant Fund. Pat is one of four winners of our 2017 Touched by Transplant “New Life” Contest in honor of April’s Donate Life Month. “In 2003, I began a new career as […]

In 2014, David Tedrow’s liver function, and therefore his life, was coming to an end as a result of non-alcoholic cirrhosis. On April 3 of that year, hope was rekindled for David and his family as he received the liver transplant he needed to survive. David is one of four winners of our 2017 Touched […]

Teacher. Mother. Survivor. This is the story of Help Hope Live patient Kellie Murphy, one of four winners of our 2017 Touched by Transplant New Life Contest. Kellie Murphy’s world was turned upside down when she received a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a blood cancer caused by malignant plasma cells in bone marrow. The mother […]

Why #MobilityMatters When you hear the word mobility, what comes to mind? If you live with a catastrophic injury or illness that impedes your ability to move freely, you already know that mobility is more than just a concept. It’s a word that is closely tied to some of life’s biggest milestones and pursuits. Each […]

Help Hope Live patient Liz Casperite received a kidney transplant with help from living donor Maria Weaver-Hollowniczky in September 2015. The lifesaving gift to fight Liz’s polycystic kidney disease (PKD) cut short her anticipated 5-year wait for a deceased donor kidney. Here’s how Liz has been touched by transplant. If you are like most people, […]

In December 2014, Linda Jara was fighting off what she thought was a seasonal flu. After several visits with her doctor, Linda was diagnosed with heart failure. Medication couldn’t correct the issue, and as her condition declined, she received a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as a bridge to a lifesaving heart transplant. In 2016, […]

April is National Donate Life Month, a commemoration that we and our patients love to celebrate. This year, Donate Life America, who launched the awareness month in 2003 with its partners, has chosen a special symbol to mark the month: a pinwheel. As the organization explains, the imagery is “symbolic of an instrument that turns […]

Just a few months into 2017, Help Hope Live clients are getting their stories featured in news outlets across the nation. Here are three standout stories of hope. Rachelle Ledbetter: Community Responds to Rare Diagnosis with Resounding Strength In 1968, Rachelle Ledbetter was the first child to be diagnosed with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), a […]