Guest Stories

When we first shared about Matthew Young’s journey in March of this year, he was unsure if he would even be listed for an intestinal transplant. 21-years-old, Matthew has been living with medical challenges since birth. His parents, Delinda and Steve, felt the helplessness and frustration that any parent would feel when faced with their…

After high school, Benjamin Armstead worked in the steel mill in Canton, Ohio. His wife, Lovie, remembers when he started to come home coughing. His primary care doctor told them Benjamin had sarcoidosis – a condition that can affect anyone, but is more common in African Americans – and prescribed prednisone and anti-inflammatory medication to…

Amber Daniel’s journey to becoming a living kidney donor began while streaming an episode of the Netflix series Dogs. She found herself inspired by the story of Michael Kaltenmark, the handler for Butler University’s bulldog mascot Trip. Michael needed a kidney transplant because of complications from Crohn’s disease. As family, friends, and complete strangers stepped…

When Jan’s adult son Joel became very sick in November of 2022, they first thought he had a severe case of pneumonia. But following testing at a hospital in Columbus, Ohio they were told that he had bacteria in his blood that had destroyed two of the valves in his heart. After 5 weeks in…

For almost three years, Gary Shamblin had battled with hypersensitivity pneumonitis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Initially, Gary’s condition meant he could no longer work but, as his wife Kayla says, he was able to maintain quality of life. This changed suddenly in July of 2022. Gary’s disease began to progress rapidly and the impact on…

John and his wife Denise came to Cleveland from their home in Pennsylvania on April 5, 2022, for one of John’s regular ultrasound appointments at the Cleveland Clinic. He had been coming to the Clinic regularly for checkups since having his gallbladder removed in 2014. As part of that procedure, John was biopsied and diagnosed…

Karen and Greg came to Cleveland after she was turned down in their home state for a lung transplant. The team in Wisconsin believed that her case was too complicated by several cardiac issues to go forward. After this setback, the Kloses traveled over 600 miles to the Cleveland Clinic where the transplant team chose…

This is Part 1 of Matthew’s story. To read a recent update, click here. “A lot of people say they are scared of death – and don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to die – but the life I’m living isn’t great.” The college students seated around 21-year-old Matthew Young in Transplant House’s programming…

*All names of other guests mentioned have been changed to protect their privacy. The first thing Dreama Cooper says about her husband Todd is that he “has nine lives.” The Cooper’s transplant journey has been a difficult one. And while each transplant experience is unique, the challenges Dreama and Todd have faced are ones many…

Imagine learning that you would need to be away from your home, your family, and your community for at least 100 days in unfamiliar surroundings while navigating a life-changing medical diagnosis. For Miriam Weaver, who came to Cleveland with her husband Ron in need of a bone marrow transplant, she knew that she would have…