Ricky MacDonald grew up in Marietta and owns a local home inspection business. He is married to Angie, a math teacher at Walton High School, and father to two daughters, Hannah (7) and Taylor (5). The MacDonald family attends East Cobb Church. January 2018 was the first time we almost lost Ricky. No one even knew he had ulcers because the man has never complained about a thing and would never want to worry anyone by mentioning he wasn’t feeling well. By the time he got to the emergency room, he had lost 8 units of blood. His kidneys and liver had started shutting down and as we now know, the damage to his liver was irreversible. It’s called cirrhosis. Ricky has followed every recommendation given by his doctors, but the liver disease has caused many issues lad have led to numerous hospitalizations over the past four years. In December, Ricky and Angie were shocked to be told it was time to start preparing for a liver transplant. In January, he was evaluated for the liver transplant and was told he would likely get his transplant in a matter of days or weeks. Three days later, he had a fever caused by a staph infection that ravaged his body and led to two weeks on a ventilator fighting for his life and 35 days in the hospital. He lost 40 pounds and is working on getting his strength back as he awaits his new liver. The MacDonalds have had many medical expenses over the last few years while Ricky has worked to build his business from the ground up (the business started the same month Ricky was first hospitalized with bleeding ulcers). Ricky has not been able to work the last few months and therefore cannot earn any income and will need time to recover from the transplant before he is cleared to work again. Angie has used up many of her sick days with his recent hospitalization and the FMLA she will take for the transplant will be unpaid once she runs out of sick leave. The MacDonalds could use some help to offset medical and living expenses as they prepare for and recover from Ricky’s liver transplant. The MacDonalds have seen the goodness and nearness of God in the midst of these struggles and their faith is stronger than ever. They are trusting God to provide a liver for Ricky and to meet all of their needs.