Lori had been battling chronic liver problems since she was a teen. After much research doctors diagnosed her with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Overtime, Lori’s doctors attempted to help her liver in many ways, including a diet change and a gastric sleeve procedure, but none of it was working.
Her liver went into cirrhosis because of the great deal of damage. In April 2019, doctors said that Lori’s liver was “quickly failing” and she would need an immediate transplant to survive. She was then placed on the transplant list, but her two adult daughters offered to be tested as live donors.
“How could I expect my daughters to go through such a major surgery when they’re totally healthy, nothing wrong with them, and it just was scary to think about what if something happened to them while they’re trying to save me,” Lori said. “It would have been devastating. Of course, I get very emotional every single time I talk about it because I wouldn’t want to lose one of my daughters. They’re everything to me, both of them.”
When they found out her daughter, Jessica was a perfect match, “All that was in my mind [was] ‘Let’s get this done. She needs this done. I’ve got to save her, I can’t lose her yet, you gave us life. It’s the least I can do to give it back to you.” said Jessica.
“When you’re given a diagnosis of zero to five years to live, you don’t have a lot of hope for the future. You’re just thinking, ‘Okay, I just have to enjoy every single day,'” Lori says. “Now I feel like I look forward to things and I can plan for things.”
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