Stories of Hope

Two decades ago, Mark Otto would’ve been happy to gain just one more year of life. Then 34, his liver was failing and he was…

Candice Desjarlais remembers the exact moment she decided to donate a kidney to her sister-in-law, Thelma. Thelma had just finished a five-and-a-half hour dialysis treatment,…

Nancy Banks was just finishing up a dialysis treatment when her phone started to ring. She didn’t recognize the number and was going to ignore…

Sarah Ann Scantamburlo has learned to live life to the fullest and make the most of whatever circumstances fate throws her way. “I feel like…

Shane Sena was dedicated to his family and friends and enjoyed working on cars. “He was a big brother and a little brother. He was…

Rebecca Anderson has been able to watch her daughter get married, graduate from Michigan State University and earn a master’s degree. She has traveled to…

Heather Luchies had long known she would need a kidney transplant. Fortunately, when the time came, a donor was closer than she had anticipated. In…

Katy Rozman has a message for young transplant recipients or young people waiting for a new life-saving organ: you are not alone. “Sometimes all we…

Murphy Ainsworth was always fit, healthy and active – an energetic athlete who is remembered by family and friends as positive and carefree, with an…

Aimee Cruz would be the first person to tell you she’s lucky to be alive. Originally from Puerto Rico, the Ann Arbor resident has had…

Leah Howell celebrates two birthdays on the same day every year. One is hers, the other is her donated kidney, which she received the day…

Stephen May had three words that he lived by: Everybody Love Everybody. He initially took it from the 2008 Will Ferrell movie Semi- Pro, but…

Kay Walters just celebrated her 70th birthday. Later this year, she’ll mark an even more significant milestone: her 24th year living with a donated heart….

‘It’s been the thing that’s kept me going,’ daughter says Marty Townsend never met a stranger. “He could talk to anybody,” said his daughter, Kimberly….

Last year marked a new beginning for Keisha Dulin. The 41-year-old Canton resident is continuing to heal after receiving a new heart in 2020 –…