Your One-Stop Resource for Liver Transplant Caregivers and Patients

Providing practical advice, support and trusted resources to navigate the transplant journey.

Welcome to our website, dedicated to sharing our journey through Raylynn’s liver transplant from a non-medical perspective. We aim to provide insights into both the caregiver's and recipient's experiences, highlighting the steep learning curve, the ups and downs, and the miracles we've encountered along the way.

We’ll share the lessons we've learned—insights we wish someone had shared with us—gleaned through trial and error. Our hope is that this website serves as a valuable resource for you and your loved ones during your own journey of healing.

Meet Patsy and Raylynn

Hi! I’m Patsy (left in the picture, the “coach”), the caregiver, and this is Raylynn (right), the liver recipient.

We were married but eventually divorced. For financial reasons, we kept our house and stayed a big part of each other's lives—Raylynn lives upstairs, and I live downstairs. Our goal was to maintain the same quality of life for ourselves and our fur babies so they would have their backyard.

Unlike most divorced couples, we were adults and made it work. We supported one another in all aspects of life to include dating other people. It wasn’t always easy, but big picture…it worked and it was the best we could do.

Fast forward.

In the early hours of November 20, 2023 (Mon), Raylynn called downstairs for me to take her to the ER, where we first heard the word "cirrhosis" and “NASH” (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis which is also known as fatty liver disease). She was hospitalized until December 1st, returning to the ER on December 14th. Raylynn was placed on the transplant donation list on December 24 (another miracle) and received the call of a liver offer on December 26 and quickly went into surgery in the early hours of December 27th. Her health declined rapidly with no previous symptoms of liver issues until her first visit to the ER on November 20th, and at one point, she was told she had only three days to live if she didn’t receive a new liver.

All of this is scary, but what most people don’t understand is 25% our our country have liver decline but the majority of the time there are no symptoms. 37 days. 37 days from Raylynn working on November 17, 2023 (Fri) and attending a concert on November 18, 2024 (Sat) to her life being turned upside down. Eventually I will provide our journey, but know this. A MELD score goes from 6 to 40 and hers topped out at 42. How is that even possible? Her kidney’s started to shut down too. More in-depth explanation in the blog.

The goal of this website is to share our experience in hopes of making your journey easier.

The picture to the right was taken on Dec.16.2023 during her second stay at the hospital as she health rapidly declined. Just 11 days after this picture was taken she received her new liver on Dec.27.2023.