Two days ago, I spoke at length with my good friend Liz Carter, who lives in Katy, near Houston.  Liz is one of my favorite friends from ActiveRain.  We first met in person in the spring of 2008, and then she attended my birthday party last year here in Austin. 

Liz is a longtime top-producing Realtor in Katy, and she has been in business longer than many agents have been alive.  To state that she is a "presence" at a party is an understatement.  She's a fun and loving lady. 

In the photo to the right, that's Liz (in the red and white) with me and Ricki Eichler at my birthday party.

When I was raising money to help my good friend's wife after his death from throat cancer, Liz was a big help, auctioning off marketing materials and her own time coaching in order to help.

My friend Liz badly needs your prayers and/or help now. 

In a nutshell, her doctors have told her that she has no more than a year or two to live unless she gets a double lung and liver transplant.  Liz underwent treatment previously for liver disease, and during her hospitalization, she contracted "mac lung", which is a bacterial infection that typically affects those with compromised immune systems.  This was brought on by bronchiectasis, which is a chronic dilation of the breathing tubes.

Liz told me that she required a double lung transplant because if only one were replaced, the other lung (with mac lung) would infect the "good" lung.  Her liver is not a problem by itself, but it couldn't handle the anti-rejection drugs needed for the lungs, so this makes things even more challenging.

On top of everything else, Liz was recently dropped by her insurance company, in yet another example of why changes are needed in that realm.  Insurance companies seem to chew people up and spit them out these days.  Liz is trying to get into the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool now.

Liz wanted me to share with all of you that she dearly misses her friends and time here on AR, and she does periodically log on to read, although she hasn't posted in quite some time.  I have seen a couple of comments from her recently, but I know that her energy level is not terrific.  She is on oxygen 24 hours a day now, and her husband told me that she doesn't leave the house very much these days. 

She did share with me that money has become a concern now, with the number of medical bills mounting rapidly.  However, she wasn't asking me to raise money.  That being said, if you feel led to donate anything, I'm sure it would come in handy right now.  Frankly, I think any gesture of encouragement or letting her know of your prayers for her would be helpful.

I set up a PayPal account for Liz using my Gmail address today, so any money that is sent there will be forwarded to her and her husband, Bill.   If you would like to give anything via PayPal, send it via jason.cowboyfan@gmail.com. 

If you are interested in sending anything else to Liz (card, letter of encouragement, gift, etc.), I can forward it to her.  I don't think she is online very often, so emails wouldn't be the best means of communicating, in my opinion.  I do have her home phone number, so if you're interested in calling her, let me know and I will try to get clearance from her to release it to you.  I know that afternoons are far better for her energy level. 

My office address is 3636 Executive Center Drive, #210, Austin, TX 78731.  If you do decide to send anything, please don't send flowers or other perishable stuff, since I will have to gather the items and forward them via mail.  I will probably try to find someone in that area to help me at some point.  In the meantime, I wanted to get the word out for her.

Thanks for reading, and for your prayers for my friend.