WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY. THIS. THIS IS A STORY ABOUT FAMILY, FRIEND, FRIENDS AND FAITH FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE WAS A MIRACLE AND THERE WERE SO MANY MIRACLES INVOLVED IN THE WHOLE PROCESS. FOR 39 YEAR OLD LAUREN BLACKWELL, HER MIRACLE CAME IN THE FORM OF A FRIENDSHIP WITH MEG DOMINGUE, WHO HELPED TO GIVE HER THE GIFT OF LIFE. AND THEN IN 19, WE FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS THIS LIVER DISORDER, THIS LIVER DISEASE, AUTOIMMUNE, AUTOIMMUNE. AND THEN IT AFFECTS YOUR LIVER. IN 2019, LAUREN WAS DIAGNOSED WITH PRIMARY BILIARY CIRRHOSIS, AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE, AND A RARE LIVER DISEASE THAT AFFECTS THE BILE DUCTS IN THE LIVER. SHE SUFFERED WITH ITCHY SKIN, FATIGUE AND OTHER SYMPTOMS FOR YEARS AND DESPERATELY NEEDED A NEW LIVER TO LIVE. SHE HAS A TERMINAL DIAGNOSIS, SO SHE WASN’T GOING TO GET A LIVER. THEN SHE WOULD PASS AWAY. SO FOR ME IT WAS A VERY EASY DECISION TO MAKE. SHE NEEDED A LIVER. I HAD A LIVER. AND SO IT WAS REALLY JUST THAT SIMPLE. BUT THE PROCESS WAS COMPLICATED. MEG DONATED 60% OF HER LIVER TO LAUREN, BUT ONCE INSIDE HER BODY, THERE WERE MAJOR BLOOD FLOW ISSUES AND THEY COULDN’T USE MEG’S LIVER. SO LAUREN WAS PLACED ON TOP OF THE TRANSPLANT LIST AND THEY WAITED FOR A NEW LIVER TO ARRIVE FROM A DECEASED DONOR. THE DOCTORS WERE SAYING THEY DIDN’T REALIZE HOW BAD IT WAS FOR ME. THEY DIDN’T REALIZE HOW BAD MY LIVER HAD GOTTEN. DOCTORS SAID LAUREN WAS SO ILL SHE WAS, QUOTE, HANGING ON THE EDGE OF A CLIFF. JUST LIKE THIS PICTURE THEY TOOK LAST YEAR IN COLORADO SPRINGS, FORESHADOWING WHAT WAS TO COME. THAT’S LAUREN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CLIFF, AND THAT’S MEG AT THE TOP WITH ARM EXTENDED PULLING LAUREN UP. LAUREN MADE IT TO THE TOP THAT DAY ON THE ROCKS OCTOBER OF 2023. SO THEY PRAYED FOR THE SAME OUTCOME ON THE HOSPITAL BED. JANUARY 16TH OF 2024. AND THEN A MIRACLE HAPPENED. I DON’T THINK THE DOCTORS BELIEVED THAT I WOULD GET THE LIVER. UM, WHEN I GOT IT 20 MINUTES RIGHT WITHIN 20 MINUTES OF OF BEING NOTIFIED THAT IT WASN’T WORKING, THEY FOUND ANOTHER ONE. MEG’S LIVER SUSTAINED LAUREN. UNTIL THAT NEW LIVER ARRIVED. I’M JUST SO GRATEFUL. IT’S NOT THE PLAN THAT WE THOUGHT THAT GOD HAD FOR US, BUT IT’S, UM. YOU KNOW, HIS HIS PLAN WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I THINK IT WAS JUST FOR ME TO GET LAUREN THERE TO, YOU KNOW, GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, GET HER THERE ON THE SURGERY TABLE FOR THAT DAY, THAT TIME TO GET THE LIVER THAT HE KNEW THAT SHE NEEDED. AND NOW, FOUR MONTHS LATER, MEG’S LIVER HAS REGENERATED. SHE IS FEELING GOOD, AND LAUREN IS FEELING HEALTHIER THAN EVER. SHE’S NOW ENJOYING TIME WITH LOVED ONES AND BUILDING MEMORIES. WITH A NEW LEASE ON LIFE AND WITH A NEW MEANING ON THE GIFT OF FRIENDSHIP. TO ME, IT’S SHE SAVED MY LIFE, YOU KNOW, UM, IF IT WASN’T FOR HER, I WOULDN’T BE HERE. AND ACCORDING TO THE U.S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, LIVER TRANSPLANTS CONTINUE TO GROW IN THE U.S, A RECORD NUMBER OF MORE THAN
‘She saved my life’: Woman attempts to donate part of her liver to best friend
Thirty-nine-year-old Lauren Blackwell says she bought a brand new lease on life thanks to her best friend, Meg Domangue.”She had a terminal analysis, so she wasn’t going to get a liver, then she would cross away. So, for me, it was a very simple choice to make. She wanted a liver, I had a liver. So, it was actually simply that straightforward,” Domangue mentioned.Blackwell was identified with major biliary cirrhosis in 2019, an autoimmune illness that impacts the bile ducts within the liver.She suffered via itchy pores and skin, fatigue and different signs for years, and desperately wanted a brand new liver to stay.So, her best friend, Domangue, donated 60 % of her liver to Blackwell, and the operation passed off on Jan. 16, 2024. But there have been issues, and in the long run, medical doctors could not use Domangue’s liver.Blackwell was instantly positioned on prime of the transplant checklist, and so they waited for a brand new liver to arrive from a deceased donor.”The medical doctors had been saying they did not notice how dangerous it was for me. They did not notice how dangerous my liver had gotten,” Blackwell mentioned.Blackwell says her household and pals all prayed for a miracle, and in 20 minutes, a brand new liver arrived.”I do not suppose the medical doctors believed that I’d get the liver once I bought it in 20 minutes. I imply, inside 20 minutes, they discovered one other one,” Blackwell mentioned.Domangue’s liver sustained Blackwell till that new liver arrived. Blackwell says she’ll all the time be grateful for her friend’s sacrifice.”Just I’m simply so grateful,” Blackwell mentioned.”It’s not the plan that we thought that God had for us. But, you recognize, his plan was one thing totally different. I feel it was only for me to get Lauren in there to, you recognize, undergo the method. Get her there on the surgical procedure desk for that day and provides her that point to get the liver that he knew she wanted,” Domangue mentioned.Domangue’s liver has since regenerated, and she or he is feeling good.Blackwell is feeling more healthy than ever, having fun with time with family members and constructing reminiscences with a brand new lease on life and a brand new which means on the present of friendship.”And to me, she saved my life. You know, if it wasn’t for her, I would not be right here,” Blackwell mentioned.
Thirty-nine-year-old Lauren Blackwell says she bought a brand new lease on life thanks to her best friend, Meg Domangue.
“She had a terminal analysis, so she wasn’t going to get a liver, then she would cross away. So, for me, it was a very simple choice to make. She wanted a liver, I had a liver. So, it was actually simply that straightforward,” Domangue mentioned.
Blackwell was identified with major biliary cirrhosis in 2019, an autoimmune illness that impacts the bile ducts within the liver.
She suffered via itchy pores and skin, fatigue and different signs for years, and desperately wanted a brand new liver to stay.
So, her best friend, Domangue, donated 60 % of her liver to Blackwell, and the operation passed off on Jan. 16, 2024. But there have been issues, and in the long run, medical doctors could not use Domangue’s liver.
Blackwell was instantly positioned on prime of the transplant checklist, and so they waited for a brand new liver to arrive from a deceased donor.
“The medical doctors had been saying they did not notice how dangerous it was for me. They did not notice how dangerous my liver had gotten,” Blackwell mentioned.
Blackwell says her household and pals all prayed for a miracle, and in 20 minutes, a brand new liver arrived.
“I do not suppose the medical doctors believed that I’d get the liver once I bought it in 20 minutes. I imply, inside 20 minutes, they discovered one other one,” Blackwell mentioned.
Domangue’s liver sustained Blackwell till that new liver arrived. Blackwell says she’ll all the time be grateful for her friend’s sacrifice.
“Just I’m simply so grateful,” Blackwell mentioned.
“It’s not the plan that we thought that God had for us. But, you recognize, his plan was one thing totally different. I feel it was only for me to get Lauren in there to, you recognize, undergo the method. Get her there on the surgical procedure desk for that day and provides her that point to get the liver that he knew she wanted,” Domangue mentioned.
Domangue’s liver has since regenerated, and she or he is feeling good.
Blackwell is feeling more healthy than ever, having fun with time with family members and constructing reminiscences with a brand new lease on life and a brand new which means on the present of friendship.
“And to me, she saved my life. You know, if it wasn’t for her, I would not be right here,” Blackwell mentioned.
