Support Missy's Liver Transplant Journey

Hi! My name is Brittany Stout and I'm helping manage the fundraising plan for Missy Ray. Missy is a dear friend and colleague of mine. in 2019, Missy went in for a routine gallbladder removal, where it was found she had stage 3 Kidney Cancer. Soon after, she went in to have her right kidney removed. After this scary turn of events, she was able to return to work, only to develop severe itching all over her body. This led to a diagnosis of a rare autoimmune disease called Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC). PBC leads to destruction of the small bile ducts within the liver which eventually leads to cirrhosis of the liver. Missy has lived with this condition for 4 years and it has progressively worsened. She has tried and failed multiple medications to control her condition and currently goes to a dialysis center twice a week to receive apharesis treatments to try to help with her symptoms. Ultimately, her medical team has determined she is ready for a liver transplant. She has been listed on the transplant list and she has one of two options. She could get a call ANY DAY that they have a donor liver for her, OR her team could decide her husband, Will, is a match and will be donating. A liver transplant will mean that Missy will be off work for at least 3 months while she heals from the surgery. Recovery can be up to 6 months depending on any complications that arise. Missy will be able to use FMLA to keep her job but this does not come with any pay. If her husband donates, he will also be off work for at least 2 months. This could mean they have NO income coming in for 2-6 months after her transplant. The funds raised for her are going to pay her monthly living expenses as well as the transportation and hotel stays required for her transplant, and the medical bills incurred with the transplant. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.

Why help Missy?

Because Missy helps others every day in her career. Missy is a long time nurse. Missy worked as an RN for 20 years at Dunn and Bloomington hospital, and has spent the last 7 years of her nursing career working as a Nurse Practitioner with SICHC. Her job is to care for other people, every day. It's our turn to care for her! Missy has continued to work full time throughout her diagnosis and treatments, but due to medical costs and bills, has been unable to save an emergency fund for this transplant. Missy works in a rural, underserved area, choosing a lower paying career path, to improve the health outcomes of those in rural areas. Now it's time to take care of her and ensure she can come out the other side of this transplant healthy and able to get back to work full time, doing what she loves: helping others.

Missy and Will have been married for 30 years and have 4 children and 1 grandchild. Missy enjoys reading, cleaning, and spending time with family.

"This is such a humbling experience to be the person in need of help. I didn't even know when to start when my medical team said it was common to fundraise for transplants. I'm grateful for Brittany and her fundraising experience to help me through this process. And I'm beyond grateful to anybody that donates to my transplant journey." -Missy Ray FNP

Funds will cover: medical travel. The Transplant center is 2 hours away and she will have frequent appointments and testing and overnight stays. This will mean money for gas, hotels, and to cover her medical expenses not covered by her insurance.

Living expenses. Being off work means no income, potentially 0 if her husband is a match. The utility bills will still come monthly, food, and wound care supplies all will be covered by this fundraiser amount. Missy also has previous medical bills she is paying on making it difficult to save any money towards this Transplant.