Jason’s Liver Transplant Story
The phone call came unexpectedly, as life-changing moments often do. “We have a liver for you.” Six simple words that sent waves of elation through our family after months of waiting, worry, and declining health. While his liver transplant journey was anything but simple, along the way, Jason, Kathie and I learned profound lessons in patience, resilience, and the bittersweet nature of hope.
For many months now, our home has shifted from a family residence into something resembling a care facility. Our son Jason’s health has steadily declined from complications of cirrhosis of the liver, creating a new rhythm to our days—one marked by hospital visits, outpatient procedures, and an ever-growing collection of prescription bottles lining his medicine cabinet.
A New Normal
Some days, Jason seems like his usual self—laughing, engaged, present. Other days, the illness claims him entirely, and we watch helplessly as cirrhosis continues its relentless march. The unpredictability has become our only constant, as we’ve learned to take each day as it comes, never knowing which version of our son we’ll be greeting at the breakfast table.
The Path to Possibility
Getting onto a liver transplant list isn’t about signing up—it’s a grueling process of qualification, evaluation, and patience. After meeting most of the preliminary criteria, Jason received the call we’d been waiting for: an invitation to Madison’s VA Hospital for a comprehensive medical workup to determine if his body could withstand the demanding 12-hour transplant surgery.
Jason and Kathie, my wife and his dedicated caregiver, flew to Madison with cautious optimism. They arrived on a Sunday, facing a tightly packed schedule of meetings and tests for Monday and Tuesday. But medicine rarely follows our carefully laid plans. Jason made it through only half a day of evaluation before his body surrendered to fatigue and complications, resulting in hospitalization.
Despite this setback, the following Monday brought unexpected news: Jason was approved for the transplant list. After months of uncertainty, we finally had something concrete to celebrate. We allowed ourselves a moment of joy, a brief “Woohoo!” in the middle of our ongoing struggle.
Throughout this medical journey, with its complex evaluations and setbacks, we’ve held onto the promise found in Jeremiah 17:14: Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved. This scripture reminds us that while we place our trust in skilled medical teams and modern transplant procedures, ultimate healing comes from a higher source. The doctors provide the means, but the deeper healing—both physical and spiritual—reflects something more profound. This perspective has helped us navigate the uncertainty of waiting, finding the strength to praise even in our most vulnerable moments.
The Double-Edged Sword
With aggressive treatment, Jason’s kidneys showed improvement—though his liver remained damaged beyond repair—and was discharged from the hospital. His release brought a complicated mix of emotions. While Jason felt elated to escape the confines of the hospital walls, his discharge placed additional burdens on Kathie, who now had to manage his meals and arrange transportation for outpatient treatments.
Hotel living became their new reality—a single room that somehow had to function as bedroom, living room, dining room, and informal recovery ward. The discharge that initially felt like freedom quickly revealed itself as a bittersweet pill. They had escaped the hospital only to find themselves in a different confinement, waiting for a call that could come at any moment—or not at all.
The Roller Coaster Intensifies
Then, incredibly, after just a few days, the call came: “We have a liver for you. Come to the hospital immediately.”
The words we had been waiting to hear sparked an immediate flurry of activity. Text messages flew from our phones as we shared the news with everyone in our circle. Jason and Kathie rushed to the hospital, where staff immediately began preparing him for surgery. The atmosphere was electric with anticipation and hope—this was it, the moment that would change everything.
Eight hours later, a surgeon entered the room. His expression told the story before his words confirmed it: “Sorry, the liver was not good and couldn’t be used.”
Just like that, elation crashed into crushing disappointment. The emotional whiplash left us stunned and disoriented. Hours earlier, we had been celebrating what seemed like the end of our ordeal and the beginning of Jason’s recovery. Now, we faced not only a continuation of the waiting game but also a new fear: What if the next call ended the same way?
The false starts and dashed hopes of this transplant journey test our patience. Ecclesiastes 3:11 reminds us He has made everything beautiful in its time. This doesn’t make the waiting easier, but it assures us that even these difficult moments are held within God’s greater purpose.
The Waiting Continues
Back to the hotel room they went—to the small space that had become both sanctuary and prison. The waiting resumed, but now with an added layer of anxiety. Would the next liver be viable? How many false starts would they endure before finding the right match? The emotional toll of hope followed by disappointment is its own unique form of exhaustion.
In these moments of uncertainty, we find ourselves drawn to the promise in Isaiah 40:31-32: Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. This isn’t a guarantee that waiting becomes easy, but an assurance that even in our exhaustion—whether in hospital beds or hotel rooms—God provides the endurance needed for each new day. The renewed strength comes not from our own reserves, which have long been depleted, but from something deeper and more sustaining.
Through this roller coaster of emotions—anxiety, worry, stress, hope, disappointment—we’ve tried to maintain perspective. In quiet moments, we remind ourselves that every call about a potential liver represents not just our potential joy, but someone else’s profound loss.
Remembering the Other Side
As we wait with hope, we are reminded of the profound sacrifice behind every transplant—a life lost making another possible. In our focus on Jason’s journey, it’s easy to forget that each donor was a person with their own story—someone who may have had a spouse, children, parents, all now grieving an unimaginable loss. While we pray for a compatible donor, another family mourns the absence of their loved one. This bittersweet reality keeps us grounded, turning our anticipation into gratitude and reflection.
This sobering reality keeps us grounded in gratitude, even as we navigate disappointment. The gift of life that Jason awaits comes through tragedy, through a family’s decision to transform their loss into someone else’s second chance.
As we continue waiting for the right liver to become available, we hold space in our hearts for those unknown families whose generosity makes transplantation possible. Our prayers extend beyond Jason’s recovery to embrace those grieving donors who, in their last act, offer strangers like our son the possibility of renewed life.
The transplant journey has taught us that hope and heartbreak often travel together, that patience is not just a virtue but a necessity, and that healing—whenever it comes—will be a gift born from both medical science and divine intervention.
Until then, we wait, we hope, and we remember.
A Life Renewed Through the Gift of Another
Jason’s journey reminds us that hope and healing often come through the generosity of others. Each organ transplant is more than a medical procedure—it’s a second chance, a testament to the kindness of strangers, and a legacy of love from those who make the courageous decision to donate.
You have the power to make a difference. Your choice today could become the life-saving call someone like Jason is waiting for.
Take the first step in giving the gift of life by clicking here:
https://myfaithtales.com/donate-organ
Together, we can turn loss into legacy,
uncertainty into hope,
and waiting into healing
—one life at a time.
