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22-year-old awaits liver transplant, needs Central Coast support

Posted: Jan 12, 2012 5:00 PM by Carina Corral
Updated: Jan 13, 2012 8:13 AM


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A 22-year-old Paso Robles woman is in the fight of her life.

Roxanne Lewis was born with rare condition called progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis. In lay man's terms, she was born with a non-functioning liver.

She has been constantly monitored by doctors since she was a baby. At 23-months-old, she had her first surgery to make a stoma for expelling bile, which was toxic to her body, from her gall bladder.

At age 12, she had her gall bladder removed.

This, along with a host of medications, seemed to help until a few months ago.

In September her condition went from bad to worse and it took just one trip to the doctor to confirm her suspicion.

"As soon as walked through the door she said, 'it's time for a new liver, Roxanne,'" said Roxanne.

"And then in October they did a biopsy to check on some lesions on her liver and they found cancer," said Cyndy Lewis, Roxanne's mother.

The two say they are best friends, making it that much harder for Cyndy to helplessly watch her daughter's health deteriorate.

"These past six months or so, she's just weak and tired and lethargic and she's not her normal chipper self...it's sad to watch."

It's not only been physically hard for Roxanne, but emotionally draining, as well.

The condition has stunted her growth, she stands at 4'9" tall and changed the color of her skin to yellow, making her the target of cruel jokes in high school.

"I think they just assumed I was short and kind of odd, I've been called everything from midget to elf to mini me," said Roxanne.

Thankfully, she had a strong family support system.

In fact, her aunt has organized a fundraiser to help with costs when the transplant does come through.

"Roxanne will have to be in the L.A. area near U.C.L.A. for at least a month after the transplant and she's been very dependant on her mother, so her mother's going to have to stay there as well," said her aunt, Barbara Helmer.

They hope to have a spaghetti dinner fundraiser, but it is just in the beginning stages.

They are looking for a venue in the northern portion of San Luis Obispo County and raffle prizes.

In the meantime, while living with chronic fatigue and pain, Roxanne is also living life to the fullest.

"I always make sure to say, everyday, I love you because I just don't know."

If you would like to help out, donations can be made at any Pacific Western Bank in the name of "The Lewis Family Charitable Trust."

You can also email questions to transplantroxanne@hotmail.com or visit TRANSPLANT ROXANNE on Facebook.

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