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

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

His transplant center was three to four hours away. I didn't understand the constant follow-up appointments, testing, medications, travel, time away from work, and how much everyday life had to be rearranged around his care.

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

Today, I do.

My wife, is now a liver transplant recipient. Walking beside her through the days leading up to her transplant, the surgery itself, and now the beginning of her recovery has opened my eyes to a world I never truly understood until our family began living it ourselves.

Receiving her transplant was an incredible blessing, but we also know the transplant itself is not the end of the journey. Recovery, medications, testing, follow-up appointments, and continued trips to the transplant center are now part of our lives. Once she has recovered, I would like for her to serve as Chief Growth Officer of Shepherd Transplant Foundation, helping us grow this mission and reach more transplant families who need support.

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

During the many days and nights I spent at the hospital with her, I began talking with other transplant patients and their families. I wanted to understand what was really difficult for them day to day. I asked about the expenses adding up, what they worried about when they left the hospital, and what would actually make a difference for their family.

I listened.

The more families I talked with, the more I heard the same concerns, travel and lodging, medications, groceries, utility bills, rent and mortgage payments, and lost income because someone needed to be at the hospital or couldn't return to work.

Those conversations made our purpose even clearer.

Our family understands the fear, waiting, uncertainty, and exhaustion because we have lived it ourselves. At the same time, we recognize how incredibly blessed we are and that we will not face many of the financial hardships other transplant families face. We don't take that blessing for granted.

We have been blessed, and we believe that blessing comes with a responsibility to bless others.

If our family can help another family keep the lights on, put groceries on the table, make a rent or mortgage payment, afford an important medication, or get back and forth to the transplant center, then that is exactly what we want to do.

That is why I created Shepherd Transplant Foundation.

Our faith has reminded us throughout this journey that even during the most uncertain days, we are not walking alone. Sometimes God's care comes through doctors and nurses. Sometimes it comes through a friend, a meal, 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.

Shepherd exists to help carry some of the burden outside the hospital by helping transplant recipients and their families with everyday expenses such as medications, groceries, utilities, transportation, lodging, and rent or mortgage payments.

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

What our family has experienced, and what we continue to experience through her recovery has given us a purpose we never expected. We want to take what we have learned and what other transplant families have shared with us and turn it into meaningful help for others.

We are incredibly grateful for the gift of life my wife has received. That gift has changed our family forever and strengthened our desire to use what we have been given to help others.

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.

Charles L.
Founder
Shepherd Transplant Foundation