Support for Lauren Fisher

Story

Welcome to Lauren Fisher's CauseTeam page! Our friend, Olivia, told us about this site where we can get some customized apparel to show our love and support for Lauren! Donations are accepted as well, and the money goes directly to the Fisher family (minus normal credit card processing fees). Many of you have already sent gift cards and gifts of money to the family, and your generosity is much appreciated! So please do not feel obligated to do more. But if you're interested, take a look and consider purchasing some custom apparel that Lauren picked out! A variety of products and colors are available. Shipping is available for those who are not in the DSM metro area. For local friends, you can select bulk shipping and arrange for pickup with me (Audrey Bell) after the online store closes on Nov. 5. Use LAURENFREESHIP at checkout. Show your love for Lolo! 

October 11th 2023:

Anyone who knows Lauren (aka “Lolo” or “Fishy”) knows that she is always full of joy and positivity and love for everyone. We are not at all surprised that she has a good attitude about all of this, and we are thankful that she is not ill or in any pain, but in a way that adds to just how incredibly shocking this diagnosis is to our family.

Here’s the backstory of the last few months… 

In March 2023, Lauren became severely ill and was hospitalized for six days, shortly after a wisdom teeth removal surgery. Originally, her doctors attributed it to a complication of having ibuprofen on a limited liquid diet. A GI scope indicated that her stomach had erosions on it that eventually became varices, which in turn led to another five-day hospital stay in June. From March to July, Lauren had a total of twelve blood transfusions and eight iron infusions. 

Next, a third GI scope was conducted in early August, and the varices were still present. So the doctors from Blank determined that she should be seen by a team of specialists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. On August 31, she had an MRI of her liver. The medical team confirmed that she had cirrhosis of the liver of unknown origin, as well as two lesions that they believe could be HCC (Hepatocellular Carcinoma). The team of specialists met to discuss her test results and found it was best to move forward with a liver transplant.  They brought Lauren over for a two-day transplant evaluation, and she had 17 appointments/tests over the course of those two days.  The surgeons and team of radiology specialists continued to look over her scans to see if there might be a chance for another route of treatment.  However, all of the routes they considered all led to her needing to have the transplant. The team of specialists believe that a new liver will do the following: alleviate the portal vein hypertension in the liver, stop the GI bleeds since the varices will go away, bring her blood counts back up, and restore her spleen to normal size. Lastly, a new liver means removing the potentially cancerous lesions and severe scarring from the cirrhosis.  A biopsy will be performed on the liver after it is out as it is too risky to go in there at this time.

October 16th 2023:

Surgery is done! We just talked to the surgeon, they are stitching her up and she’ll be in recovery for about an hour before they bring her up to her room in ICU. He said everything went off without a hitch, exactly the way he would’ve wanted it, no surprises, no missteps, just a total textbook surgery.  He saw the cirrhosis.  And saw that her portal vein wasn’t even attached to the liver. It was leading the blood to another tributary. Couldn't see the lesions but you never do until biopsy.  She only required one unit of blood.  Let's continue to pray that her body accepts the liver. 

October 19th 2023:

Update…Lauren had a great day today! She had PT right away this morning and his goal for her was 100 ft and she walked 300 ft! Then she was taken off her fluids only diet and can now eat whatever she wants (slowly of course, so she doesn’t upset her stomach). So she had her favorite 5 Cheese Ziti from Olive Garden tonight.  She had some pretty sweet visitors come see her too: Mackenzie, Grandma Kate, Audrey, Abby, Eden, & Brooke! She loved getting to see them and hang out for a little bit.  The other big step today was that she was moved out of her ICU room & down the hall to a regular hospital room. Her big goals for tomorrow are to walk the halls at least 3 times, work on her breathing output, and drink lots of water! We also pray that she can rest easy tonight and that her pain is managed. Thank you all for all the love and support you have to given to Lauren & the rest of us! It means the world to us!! 

Ways to Support:

100% of cash donations (minus fees) will be donated back to Lauren. Simply scroll to 'Another Way to Give' at the bottom of this page.