Shepherd Transplant Foundation was created from something very personal to me and my family.

Transplantation was not completely unfamiliar to me. My uncle went through a transplant years ago, and I knew it was a major, life-changing event. I knew about the surgery and the recovery, but looking back, I realize I never truly understood everything he and his family went through.

I didn't understand the day-to-day reality after the transplant. I didn't understand how often he had to return to the transplant hospital for follow-up appointments, testing, and care when complications arose. His transplant center was three to four hours away, which meant hours of driving, time away from home and work, travel expenses, and rearranging everyday life around his medical care.

I knew he had received a transplant. I just didn't understand everything that came with it.

Today, I do.

My wife, Shelli, is currently on the liver transplant wait list. Walking beside her through this journey has opened my eyes to a world I never truly understood until our family began living it ourselves. Right now, Shelli's focus is on receiving her transplant, healing, and recovering. Once she has recovered, I would like for her to serve as Chief Growth Officer of Shepherd Transplant Foundation, helping us grow our mission and reach more transplant families who need support.

I have learned that a transplant is so much more than the surgery.

It is the days and nights in the hospital. It is waiting for test results and praying for good news. It is the appointments that cannot be missed, the medications that have to be taken, the trips back and forth to the transplant center, and the uncertainty of not knowing what tomorrow may bring.

As I spent more and more time at the hospital with Shelli, I also began talking with other transplant patients and their families. I wanted to understand their journeys—not just medically, but what was really difficult for them day to day.

I started asking questions. What has been the hardest part? What expenses are adding up? What are you worried about when you leave the hospital? What would actually make a difference for your family?

I listened.

And the more families I talked with, the more I realized how many of them were carrying the same kinds of burdens. Travel back and forth to the transplant center, Hotels and meals when home is hours away, Gas, Medications, Groceries, Utility bills, Rent and Mortgage payments. Lost income because someone has to be at the hospital or cannot return to work.

These may sound like ordinary expenses, but when a family is going through a transplant, they can add up very quickly.

Sitting beside these families day after day and hearing their stories made our purpose even clearer. Our family wants to help other families because right now, we are sitting where they are sitting. We understand the waiting, the uncertainty, and the exhaustion.

Our family also recognizes how incredibly blessed we are. While we are facing the same fears and uncertainties that come with a transplant, we know that we will not face many of the financial hardships that other families are experiencing at the same time. We don't take that blessing for granted.

As I have sat in the hospital and listened to other families talk about the expenses, the time away from work, the travel, and the everyday bills that don't stop, it has affected me deeply. I kept thinking about how difficult this journey already is without having to worry about whether you can pay the rent, keep the lights on, afford the trip back to the transplant center, or put groceries on the table.

We have been blessed, and we believe that blessing comes with a responsibility to help others. If our family has the ability to make this journey a little easier for another family, then that is exactly what we want to do.

Throughout our own journey, my faith has reminded me that even during the most uncertain days, we are not walking alone. Sometimes God's care comes through the doctors and nurses caring for someone we love. Sometimes it comes through a friend who calls at exactly the right time, a meal brought to the hospital, a prayer, or simply someone willing to sit beside you when you don't know what tomorrow holds.

I believe we are called to be that kind of support for others.

That is why I created Shepherd Transplant Foundation.

We cannot take away the fear or uncertainty of a transplant. We cannot replace the incredible doctors, nurses, transplant coordinators, and medical teams caring for these patients. But there is something we can do.

We can help carry some of the burden outside the hospital.

Shepherd exists to help transplant recipients and their families with the everyday expenses that don't disappear during this journey—groceries, utilities, transportation, medications, lodging, rent or mortgage payments, and other essential needs.

Living this journey alongside Shelli has helped me understand something I didn't fully understand when my uncle went through his transplant, a transplant doesn't happen to just one person. In many ways, the entire family goes through it.

Behind every person waiting for or recovering from a transplant is a family trying to stay strong, keep life together, and be there for someone they love.

That is the heart behind Shepherd Transplant Foundation.

What our family is walking through today has given us a purpose we never expected, to take what we are learning, what we are experiencing, and what other transplant families are sharing with us and turn it into meaningful help for others. Once Shelli has recovered, she will join me in growing Shepherd and helping ensure that families facing this journey have somewhere to turn for support.

If Shepherd can help keep someone's lights on, put groceries on their table, help with a mortgage or rent payment, cover an important medication, provide lodging near a transplant center, or simply take one financial worry away during an incredibly difficult time, then we are doing what this Foundation was created to do.

I believe God can bring purpose from some of life's most difficult seasons. Our family's journey has strengthened my faith, changed my perspective, and given me a calling to help others who find themselves walking a road they never expected to travel.

That is why we chose the name Shepherd. A shepherd walks beside, guides, protects, and cares. That is what we hope this Foundation can be for transplant families, a helping hand, a source of hope, and a reminder that they do not have to walk this journey alone.

Our family's journey became our reason to help others through theirs... with faith, hope, and love guiding the way.

Chuck Liston
Founder
Shepherd Transplant Foundation