In this episode of Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast, we’re joined by Madison Staiger, a liver transplant recipient who received her life-saving transplant in December 2018 and recently celebrated her seven-year anniversary.

Madison shares how her journey began in February 2018, when what she believed was the flu quickly turned into a life-altering diagnosis of autoimmune liver disease. She walks us through the transplant evaluation process, the emotional challenges of waiting, and the moment she learned she was number one on the transplant list.

We talk about recovery after surgery, including time spent in the surgical ICU, being on oxygen for months, and learning to manage lifelong medications. Madison also opens up about the mental health side of transplantation and how working with a transplant-focused psychiatrist helped her navigate life after surgery.

Now thriving, Madison works as a program coordinator at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center — the same hospital where she received her transplant. She’s currently pursuing her second master’s degree and gives back through volunteer work with the Humane Society and Lifeline of Ohio.

This episode is an honest and hopeful conversation about resilience, gratitude, and finding purpose after receiving the gift of life.

Let’s Stay Connected:

Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com

Website: www.giftoflifepodcast.com

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BJ Odom’s book

More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget

Grab your copy today: https://a.co/d/gNgC9jO

Available in paperback & eBook!

If this episode touched your heart, help us spread the message:

Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platforms.

Share this episode with family and friends. Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings. Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.

Last week, we introduced you to heart transplant recipient Bill Barschaw and his powerful journey of survival.

This week, we continue that story through the eyes of his wife and caregiver, Val Barschaw.

After walking beside Bill through his heart transplant and witnessing the realities of hospital life firsthand, Val felt called to share what she learned — not just for patients, but for families and caregivers navigating the healthcare system. That experience inspired her to write the book:

Surviving the Hospital: Six Secrets Every Patient Should Know

In this episode, Val shares:

• What it truly means to walk the transplant journey as a caregiver

• The emotional toll families experience during long hospital stays

• The importance of patient advocacy

• How knowledge can empower patients and caregivers during medical crises

This is a meaningful, eye-opening conversation that honors caregivers and highlights the vital role they play in every transplant story.

Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com

Website: www.giftoflifepodcast.com

Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast

Listen & Share: https://lnk.to/GiftofLife

More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget

Grab your copy today: https://a.co/d/gNgC9jO

Available in paperback & eBook

If this episode touched your heart:

Subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and share this episode with family and friends.

Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, celebrating caregivers, and sharing hope.

Follow Val

Blog about humor benefits:
https://gnanow.org/blogs/why-every-patient-advocate-should-pack-a-humor-toolkit-the-science-backed-strategy-that-s-transformi.html

Blog about preparation:
https://gnanow.org/blogs/take-control-of-your-surgery-why-proper-preparation-can-change-everything.html

Book purchase is anywhere books are sold, Amazon, B&N, etc and my site:
https://hospitaltohealth.com/products-list

website: hospitaltohealth.com

In this powerful conversation, we sit down with transplant recipient Bill Barschaw as he takes us back to the moment his life changed forever. What began as a routine medical visit unfolded into a diagnosis that would reshape his future — and ultimately lead to a life-saving heart transplant.

Bill shares how a routine checkup in 1990 led his primary doctor to refer him to a cardiologist — a decision that would alter the course of his life.

His cardiologist recommended a right heart catheterization to get a deeper look at his heart function. That test brought questions — and then answers.

After the cath, Bill was diagnosed with idiopathic viral cardiomyopathy — a condition that weakened his heart muscle for reasons doctors couldn’t completely explain.

With medications, Bill managed his condition for years. Though the road was far from smooth, the treatments kept him going and living life as fully as possible.

Bill recounts how, as his condition progressed, he eventually became a candidate for a heart transplant. Thirty-five years ago, he received a new heart — a moment that gave him renewed life and hope.

This story is a testament to:

• The importance of perseverance — even when the diagnosis is uncertain.

• The power of medical testing to uncover hidden conditions.

• The gift of transplantation in rewriting the future.

Whether you’re a transplant patient, a caregiver, or someone seeking hope through hardship, Bill’s voice brings encouragement and clarity to the journey.

Next week we introduce you to his wife Val Barschaw who has written a book "Surviving the Hospital Six Secrets Every Patient Should Know”

What idiopathic viral cardiomyopathy is — and why early diagnosis matters

How a right heart cath can change the course of care

The emotional and physical journey toward transplant

The impact of gratitude and community in the organ transplant world.

Let’s Stay Connected:

Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com

Website: www.giftoflifepodcast.com

Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast

Listen & Share: https://lnk.to/GiftofLife

BJ Odom’s book

More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget

Available in paperback & eBook!

If this episode touched your heart, help us spread the message:

Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platforms.

Share this episode with family and friends. Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings. Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.

In this deeply moving episode, we meet Caroline Mozare, a courageous young woman whose life changed forever after years of being undiagnosed—until her body could no longer fight on its own.

What began as unanswered questions and quiet suffering led Caroline to the hospital, where she learned the unthinkable: she needed a liver transplant to survive. As her condition rapidly declined, Caroline spent many critical days unconscious, unaware of how close she came to losing her life. During that time, her husband stood in the gap—making impossible decisions, praying for a miracle, and later becoming the voice who would gently tell her everything that happened while she was gone.

Caroline’s story is raw, real, and profoundly human. She opens up about the physical pain, the emotional toll, and the silent strength it took to endure what no one should have to face—especially at such a young age. This episode is not just about transplant; it’s about love, resilience, faith, and the unbreakable bond between two people walking through the darkest days together.

This is a story that will stay with you—one that reminds us how fragile life can be, how powerful hope is, and how lifesaving the gift of organ donation truly is.

Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com

Website: www.giftoflifepodcast.com

Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast

Listen & Share: https://lnk.to/GiftofLife

More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget

Grab your copy today: https://a.co/d/gNgC9jO

Available in paperback & eBook

If this episode touched your heart, please help us spread the message:

• Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform

• Share this episode with family and friends

Together, we are raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings.

Thank you for being part of our life-giving community

Welcome to Episode 92 of Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast.

This week, we share the powerful and faith-filled story of Michael Adams, a double lung transplant recipient whose life has been defined by perseverance, courage, and gratitude.

Michael’s journey began as a young boy diagnosed with severe asthma. Years later, doctors discovered the true cause — cystic fibrosis — a diagnosis that explained the countless hospital stays, relentless treatments, and repeated brushes with death that followed. His childhood and adult life were marked by oxygen tanks, infections, and moments when breathing itself felt like an impossible task.

By the age of 39, Michael’s condition had reached a breaking point. At one point, he was read his last rites — a moment no family ever expects, and no patient ever forgets. Yet, in the midst of that darkness, hope arrived through the miracle of transplantation.

Thanks to the gift of life and the generosity of an organ donor, Michael received a double lung transplant — a moment that changed everything.

Today, Michael is breathing freely on his own — something he once could only dream about. In this episode, he opens up about the fear, the faith, the waiting, and the overwhelming gratitude that comes with receiving a second chance at life. His story is a testament to the power of organ donation and the incredible resilience of the human spirit.

This is more than a transplant story — it’s a reminder that miracles happen, hope endures, and every breath is a gift.

Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com

Website: www.giftoflifepodcast.com

Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast

Listen & Share: https://lnk.to/GiftofLife

More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget

Grab your copy today: https://a.co/d/gNgC9jO

Available in paperback & eBook

If this episode touched your heart, please help us spread the message:

• Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform

• Share this episode with family and friends

Together, we are raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings.

Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.

This week on Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast, we share a powerful and honest story of survival, accountability, and redemption.

Our guest, Alyson Jeter, opens up about her journey to a life-saving liver transplant following alcohol-related liver failure. In her own words, Alyson courageously shares the realities of addiction, the road to recovery, and the moment she was given a second chance at life through the gift of organ donation.

Her story is one of humility, growth, and hope — a reminder that transformation is possible and that every donor gift has the power to change not just a body, but an entire future.

This episode sheds light on:

• The realities of liver failure and transplantation

• The importance of personal responsibility and recovery

• The life-changing power of organ donation

• What it truly means to receive a second chance

Alyson’s testimony is raw, real, and deeply moving — and it reminds us why awareness, compassion, and grace matter so much in the transplant community.

Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com

Website: www.giftoflifepodcast.com

Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast

Listen & Share: https://lnk.to/GiftofLife

Check out BJ’s memoir:

Grab your copy today: https://a.co/d/gNgC9jO

Available in paperback & eBook

If this episode touched your heart:

• Subscribe to the podcast

• Leave a 5-star review on your favorite platform

• Share this episode with family and friends

Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings.

Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.

This week’s episode is one of courage, faith, resilience, and the long road of living with transplantation.

We are honored to introduce you to Kim Jacques, a heart and double lung transplant survivor whose journey began far earlier than most. At just five years old, Kim’s family knew something wasn’t right. Years of tests, uncertainty, and incredible medical care followed — but it wouldn’t be until she was 16 years old that Kim would learn the truth: she would one day need a transplant to survive.

Navigating adolescence is hard enough. Facing it while feeling different, fragile, and uncertain about the future is something few can imagine. Kim opens up about returning to school, carrying fears no teenager should have to hold, and learning to live with a body that didn’t always cooperate.

Now, 30 years after her life-saving heart and double lung transplant, Kim once again finds herself at a crossroads — facing the possibility that another transplant may be in her future.

In this deeply moving episode, Kim shares her full story with honesty, grace, and strength — reminding us what it truly means to live life one day at a time, to honor donors and medical teams, and to keep moving forward even when the road ahead is uncertain.

This is a story of survival.

A story of faith.

And a story of hope.

Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com

Website: www.giftoflifepodcast.com

Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast

Listen & Share: https://lnk.to/GiftofLife

More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget

Grab your copy today: https://a.co/d/gNgC9jO

Available in paperback & eBook

If this episode touched your heart:

• Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform

• Share this episode with family and friends

Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating second chances and new beginnings.

Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.

In this powerful and deeply moving episode of Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast, we share the extraordinary journey of Mary Ann, a woman in need of a liver transplant who never could have imagined how God was already working behind the scenes.

While searching for hope and answers, Mary Ann received devastating news — the passing of her son’s childhood best friend, Jared. With a grieving heart, she went to visit Jared’s parents, Steve and Angie, bringing a simple condolence gift and her love during one of their darkest moments.

What happened next is nothing short of a God moment.

After Mary Ann left, Angie began reading about her story and learned that Mary Ann was in need of a liver transplant. Moved by compassion, faith, and the unbreakable bond between her son and Mary Ann’s family, Angie felt a calling she couldn’t ignore. After prayer and heartfelt conversations with her husband Steve, Angie made the courageous decision to be tested as a potential donor.

Guided by faith and love, Angie stepped forward — and God showed up in a powerful way.

Not only was Angie a match… she was a perfect match.

This episode is a testimony to divine timing, sacrificial love, and how God can bring healing out of heartbreak. It’s a reminder that even in our deepest grief, God is still writing beautiful stories of hope, life, and purpose.

You will not want to miss this incredible, faith-filled story of loss, love, and the miracle of organ donation.

In the months following her son Jared's sudden and tragic death, a mother turned her grief into action through an extraordinary act of generosity, becoming a live liver donor to the mother of Jared’s childhood best friend. Jared, a U.S. Marine remembered by family and friends for his compassion and quiet strength, grew up in a household shaped by a strong commitment to service. That legacy is now being carried forward through the soon to be launched Jared’s Light Foundation (www.jaredslightfoundation.org), which is being formed to honor his life by promoting service and Christ-centered hope. To learn more about Jared and the mission inspired by his life, follow along as we prepare to shine his light into the world.

Let’s Stay Connected:

Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com

Website: www.giftoflifepodcast.com

Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast

Listen & Share: https://lnk.to/GiftofLife

BJ Odom’s book

More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget

Grab your copy today: https://a.co/d/gNgC9jO

Available in paperback & eBook!

If this episode touched your heart, help us spread the message:

Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platforms.

Share this episode with family and friends. Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings. Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.