Posts by Lara Malbon
Best Friends, A Life-Saving Gift
Vernisha and Yvonne met at Dozier Middle School in Newport News and became fast friends. More than thirty years later, Yvonne would become Vernisha’s living donor. Kidney disease was not new to Vernisha’s life. Shortly after meeting Yvonne, Vernisha’s father went into kidney failure. He would spend nearly 20 years on dialysis, and in his final two years, Vernisha and her…
Read MoreThe Call That Changed Everything
“I was fortunate enough to receive the call that not everyone does.” For Danville City Councilman and former Virginia Delegate Danny Marshall, that sentence carries a lifetime of meaning. Marshall has lived with pulmonary fibrosis, a disease that scars the lungs and gradually makes breathing harder and harder. It’s also a disease that has impacted his family. His father died…
Read MoreA Second Chance at Their Future Together
15 years ago, when he learned that his wife needed a transplant, Scott Bucci was eager to find out if he was a match. Early on in their marriage, Scott’s wife Melissa became ill. As time passed, her illness progressed and began to require more and more medical interventions. Eventually, her illness began to impact…
Read MoreGiving Father’s Last Act of Kindness
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney had a very giving dad who instilled in Levar and his siblings values they hold dear today. “He taught us that we have to think about a life that’s bigger than just us, how we treat others, that we needed to be servants to others,” remembers Mayor Stoney. That’s why it wasn’t…
Read MoreGraduate gets a second chance to follow his dreams after liver transplant
Evan Ware began his weekend as a normal medical college student looking forward to dinner and drinks with friends after finishing some school exams. But before Sunday’s end, Evan learned that he may need a liver transplant to survive after waking up Saturday not feeling well. “I just woke up and was nauseated and vomiting…
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