The power of love can make a person do anything. For this Connecticut wife it meant saving her husband’s life.
Over the past ten years, Jen and Matt Ragaini have spent a countless number of hours searching for a perfect liver transplant match for him, but for one reason or another it hasn’t worked out. In 2015, the Ragaini couple felt pressure to find a match soon because Matt’s health was declining rapidly and his days seemed to be painful and numbered.
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Twelve years ago, Matt was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic and long term liver condition, according to the American Liver Foundation.
And when Matt was diagnosed with the condition, his Connecticut based medical team shared that he would most likely need a new liver in the next ten years and would have to put his name on the organ transplant list.
Over the last several years, the family got a few potential leads but found no specific matches. They were nearly out of hope when finally, someone brought up the idea that Jen should get tested. Incredibly, she was the perfect match and could donate a portion of her kidney to her husband.
Her husband explained he was worried and very hesitant about her doing so because of the many risks that come with transplant surgery, including the possibility of their 8-year-old daughter losing a parent because something went wrong during the routine procedure.
But Jen wasn’t bothered by the risks because she wanted both of them to be alive and be part of their daughter’s life. Plus she wanted to do something for the man she loved.
Leading up to the surgery, Jen explained that, she watched her husband turn a grayish/yellow from the disease and struggle to eat without the help of a nose feeding tube. She also added that when her husband was at his lowest point, she told Today.com that, “I promised [my daughter] I would save daddy — somehow, some way — and I did.”
Now looking back on the experience, the 40-year-old mother says that, “I feel that God put us together for this reason and now we’re one” And now “I feel closer than ever to him.”
Her 36-year-old husband also agrees and told Today.com that, “It’s pretty amazing, it’s kind of humbling, it’s just a great thing.”
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