SAN ANTONIO – Rachel Higginbotham realized that something was wrong with her friend and fellow churchgoer, Billy Massie, after noticing he “didn’t look well.”
Billy Massie was diagnosed with a genetic liver disorder and eventually needed a transplant.
Higginbotham told KSAT that she saw a Facebook post from someone who needed a liver and decided to apply as a donor.
“I’d seen a post on Facebook that someone I knew needed a liver, and I thought, I have a liver, why don’t I apply?” Higginbotham said.
Billy Massie said the procedure allowed him to return to work and family life.
“That decision keeps me here talking to you today, opening up my world again to work, take care of family, watch soccer games and chase kids,” he said.
Billy Massie’s wife, Shannon, watched the effect her husband’s transplant at University Health Transplant Institute had on their family. She felt compelled to donate as well, this time to a stranger.
Diagnosed with liver cancer, Rozlyn Burma was urged by doctors to receive a transplant before the illness returned. On Dec. 12, Burma says she received word that Shannon was a match.
“I knew what a huge blessing it had been in our lives, and to think, OK, I can give somebody else that opportunity, and I don’t care who it is,” Shannon Massie said.
Burma described the relief when she learned a donor had been found.
“I just started bawling because we were under so much stress and anxiety of the wait before cancer returned,” Burma said.
Doctors from University Health Transplant Institute successfully transplanted a portion of Shannon’s liver to Rozlyn and Rachel’s liver to Billy.
Further reading: Organ Donation, Second Chances: How One Gift Can Rewrite Someone’s Future
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