Gift of Life Stories

I was informed I had liver problems about 8 years ago during a routine insurance physical.  I have always been in good health and have been a non-drinker all my life, so as you can imagine, it was a big shock to me.  My local doctor sent me to Vanderbilt where I’ve been followed for the past eight years. It is unknown as to why I have cirrhosis, being a non-drinker, but I am told that about 15% of liver . . .

Franklin County resident, Anita Harrod, had no idea that a silent killer lay dormant in her liver until she went to the doctor one day in the spring of 2001. “I just became lethargic and would lie on the couch all day and that just wasn’t me.  I also developed a lot of fluid in my abdomen”, she recalled. Anita’s doctor sent her to see a specialist and it was there that she learned she had contracted Hepatitis C and . . .

January 2009, my daughter Amber Dawn Poynter suffered a massive brain aneurysm.  Her passing was unexpected, painless and immediate.  She was 27 years-old and the mother of three small children. She and I talked many times over the years about the importance of organ donation.  She was able to donate both of her kidneys, her liver and both of her corneas.  Her children will grow up learning their mommy made a decision to be an organ donor and because of . . .

In 1994 Betty Lingenfelter began experiencing health problems.  She was retaining fluid and battling severe fatigue.  After many tests, it was discovered she had contracted Hepatitis C from a blood transfusion she received in 1981.  The disease could be managed with a regimen of medications, but doctors projected she would need a liver transplant within five years.  In January 1997, Betty was placed on the national waiting list for a transplant.  The time between being listed and her liver transplant . . .

Andrew Michael Shorter was born on August 23, 1978 – the brother of two older sisters – and the last child in the family.  As the only boy, he was often dubbed, “Prince Andrew” by his Grandmother & Great Grandmother. Andy was a happy child – would tell jokes, easy-going, and I have fond memories of him jumping into leaves and laughing and enjoying life.  In 1st grade he had a best friend – Nick, and the two would draw . . .

Corey was diagnosed with FSGS, a kidney disease, in 2007 at the age of 16.  By the spring of 2009, we were told he would soon need a transplant.  After testing six family members, his sister, Amber, ended up being a perfect match. Corey had to have both kidneys removed prior to the transplant and was on dialysis for seven weeks.  He received his transplant on December 29, 2009.  Unfortunately, his disease returned immediately, and he will be in need . . .

What would you do if you thought you had a cold with flu-like symptoms such as nausea, headaches, and fatigue?  Would you call in sick to work? Stay in bed for a few days?  This is exactly what Louisville native and life long resident Barbara Oliver did in 1988. “At first I didn’t think anything of it.  I thought I had the flu.  I figured I was just stressed out from my job and from playing super mom at home.  . . .

The Price family of Louisville knows what it means to give the gift of life as well as what it means to receive it.   Andreas Price, the youngest of the three Price children, was diagnosed at the age of 15 with chronic glomerulonephritis, a type of kidney disease whose cause is unknown.  Andreas remembers the day it all happened as if it was yesterday. “I woke up on March 3, 1980 and I had a terrible headache, and blurred and . . .

Little Allie Roberts was only seven months old when a tragic automobile accident took her life in Hancock County in November, 2004. Her family made the momentous decision that she would be an organ and tissue donor in order to save other infants’ lives. The family, lead by Allie’s mother Ashley Bolen and grandmother Pam Bolen, continues to remember and honor that decision by actively supporting organ donation in their community and by volunteering as a group to staff the . . .