On Saturday, August 17th, Laurel received a text from a dear college friend, Bridget Riley, about a possible direct organ donation from a family associated with Bridget’s son’s work. Multiple texts, emails, and calls ensued into the night. A direct donation like this is nearly never done, says the NYU Lung Transplant Team!

Early Sunday morning, the NYU Langone Transplant team informed Laurel that Jen was offered the lungs, and they accepted, but that the process was just beginning. On Sunday, August 18th, at 4:30 p.m., Jen was wheeled into the operating room, and the surgery continued until 1 a.m. Monday, August 19.