By LEE WARD
ASHLAND — Dell Rachell had always been active — running marathons, scuba diving, climbing mountains.
At 51, a virus attacked her digestive system, causing her to have her gall bladder removed. During the surgery, doctors found so much damage to her liver that they gave her a year and a half to live. Her only hope would be to have a liver transplant.
“I went to a macrobiotic diet to help me become a better candidate for transplant,” she said.
A resident of Los Angeles, she applied and was accepted into the renowned UCLA transplant program; three weeks later, she received a new liver.
“By that time, I was very close to death,” Rachell recalled. “I was in and out of a comatose state.”
She said her parents came to help her. “I think they came out for me to die,” she said.
But she had a successful surgery and recovery, receiving a liver from a 17-year-old boy.
Each year, Rachell celebrates her Life Day — March 16, the day she received a new liver — by bringing breakfast for everyone in her office at Pathways.
This year, however, the celebration has gone public. Pathways invites the public to join Rachell and the staff in celebration of 19 years with a new liver. The breakfast will be from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The celebration will include a display of the Donor Quilt, a quilt made of 12 by 12-inch squares honoring those who have donated organs.
There also will be a Transplant Olympics display, which includes photos of the Kentucky team.
Rachell, 69, is preparing to participate for the third time in the Transplant Olympics, set for July 30 through Aug. 4. She will participate in the 100-meter dash, the 100-meter freestyle swim and the 5K run.
The Texas native is helping to raise funds for Team Kentucky by organizing a program called Walk to Madison which aims to help participants get ready for the games as well as help drum up enough money to cover the team’s expenses. It costs $1,500 per person to attend the games.
Rachell said she’s “ramped up” her workout routine in preparation for the games, going from working out three times a week to working out every night and going at it harder on the treadmill.
The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network says more than 100,000 in the United States are on the organ transplant waiting list and more than 600 are in Kentucky.
Rachell said she feels fortunate to be an organ recipient.
“I just want to stand up and say, ‘Hey, I’m alive,’” she said. “It’s a wonderful life.”
LEE WARD can be reached at lward@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2661.
