Latest - Tagged as transplant

In August 2015, John “Skeeter” Coleman was diagnosed with end-stage heart failure. In October 2015, Skeeter and his family began fundraising with HelpHOPELive to prepare for a lifesaving heart transplant. This is the story of how Skeeter received his new heart. I was the “best of the worst,” the doctors said when they put me […]

Retired teacher Bob Wollenberg received a double lung transplant on February 19, 2016. During his 36 years as a public school teacher, drama director and coach in Boyne City, Michigan, Bob made a difference in the lives of countless children and young adults. When his family began fundraising with HelpHOPELive in December 2015, his community […]

Jennifer Alley was born with myopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, a chronic rare disease. She received an intestinal transplant in 2004 with support from her husband and son. How has the transplant impacted your life? I have been sick since birth. Before my transplant, I was always in and out of the hospital and I had three […]

I once wondered if I would make it to age 30; I’m 38 now. I am Nicole Seefeldt, and I have been living with the chronic lung disease lymphangioleiomyomatosis – more commonly known as LAM – for more than 10 years. My Story In 2010, I began having a yearly talk with my doctor about […]

February is Black History Month, an opportunity to delve into the unique challenges and triumphs experienced by African-Americans. Here are two client perspectives on coping with discrimination, holding onto hope and serving as a self-advocate for your health. David A. Jeffers David (above, with his wife Yasmine and sons) became paralyzed while at the beach […]

Patrick McEntee was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 1996. By 2008, he had experienced two strokes and a non-obstructive heart attack. He received an LVAD in 2014 and began fundraising with HelpHOPELive six months after being listed for transplant. In honor of Heart Month, here are Patrick’s observations after a year and a half on the […]

Jason Brickey is on the waiting list for a kidney-pancreas transplant. Jason has been battling brittle type 1 diabetes since age 15 and is legally blind today due to related complications. His wife, Ashley, serves as his caregiver. From community support to the positivity provided by their five children, Ashley explains why love is central […]

Author and professional rock musician James Michael McLester was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease in his early thirties. He endured 13 years of regular hemodialysis before his best friend, Laura Suarez McCutcheon, offered to donate one of her kidneys to James to save his life. On December 9, James received the gift of life from […]

Rick Brittell was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2011. In April 2014, Rick and his wife, Susie, moved from their home in Boise, Idaho to a trailer in Salt Lake City, Utah for 2 ½ months so that Rick could receive a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as a bridge to a heart transplant—his […]

On October 15, 2015, 77-year-old Bill Graham, Sr. became the oldest living kidney donor ever recorded at the University of Maryland Medical Center as he donated a kidney to his son and HelpHOPELive client, Andy. The transplant was a lifesaving gift for Andy, who had been fighting end-stage renal disease since 2013. Andy is described […]