·         Trisha Wilson is a 27 year old native of Montana.

·         When Trisha was 9 years old, she was diagnosed with  Auto-Immune Disease of the Liver.

·         At age 14, she was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, a disease of the large intestine (Colon).

·         Over the years, both diseases have progressed, leading to her placement on the Liver Transplant List at the age of 18 years.

·         Because of the  progressive worsening of her conditions, and the severe complications the diseases have caused, Trisha and her husband, Mark, left Billings to pursue appropriate care. They moved to Phoenix, Arizona with a "leap of faith" to receive treatment at the Mayo Clinic Hospital.

·         The Ulcerative Colitis has progressed so severely that Trisha was scheduled to have Colon Removal Surgery (colectomy) on August 25th, 2010, as drug treatment options were exhausted and were unable to control the disease any longer.

·         In preparation for this surgery, it was determined that the surgery was not possible without first removing her Spleen as it is so enlarged (at least 6 times the normal size) that it is intruding on her stomach and is blocking access to the Colon.  However, the spleen is so enlarged because it has been doing the work of the liver for a long time; by removing the Spleen she runs the risk of having severe Liver problems.  Therefore, to remove the Colon she must have her spleen removed, and to do that she must have a Liver transplant.  Most of her "issues" are due to the progression of her liver disease which has created extreme negative effects on her surrounding organs and major vein structures. As a result of these effects her body has developed a growth of new veins off of the Spleen that also must be removed. Doctors referred to these massive new vein growths that have grown as a virtual " mine field"  for the surgeon. Finally, after healing from the liver transplant and spleen removal surgery,  she will then have to have her large intestine (Colon) removed, as it is toxic and presents great danger to the rest of her body.

·         Unfortunately (and fortunately), Trisha is not eligible for a liver from a cadaver because her MELD scores are not high enough (she is at an 11 and most patients don't have a liver transplant until they are around a 20),  as set forth by the governing authorities for organ placement in 2002. It is her extenuating circumstances that lead her to the need of the Liver transplant.  Therefore, her only option is to receive a partial liver transplant from a living donor; someone who is willing to donate part of their liver, has Type B  blood, is physically able to go through the surgery, and passes all the required tests to donate. The live donor will give part of the right lobe of their liver to Trisha.  Trisha's body will then continue to grow her liver off of the donor's piece and the donor will regrow their liver to full capacity within 4 weeks time. Truly an amazing gift!

·         The costs for a live donor transplant are very high, and while Trisha and her husband do have health insurance, there are many costs that aren't covered by insurance. 

We, as her family and friends, have started a Benefit account called Share Life! Our goal is to raise funds to help Trisha and her live donor with expenses through these coming months.  We are estimating a need of at least $15,000 to pay for the immediate necessities for the donor to give this unbelievable gift of life to Trisha. We feel that this magnitude of generosity and unselfish giving should not have a consequence of any financial burden. 

Our long term goal is to help bring awareness to live donations and the need to "Share" with those who's medical problems can be helped in this way.  We also intend to help support the "Transplant House" in Scottsdale, Arizona, where many transplant patients stay to heal after their surgery.

If you are touched by Trisha's story, and would like to help her through contributing funds or spreading her story to others, please contact her mother, Shirley Abbey @ (406) 698-8559 email smokeyct2@hotmail.comor her sister, Jennifer Hudson @ (406) 531-9796 email hudsonj@lockwoodschool.org