SUNBURY – Sherry Lassiter Brickhouse is a fighter, and the battle she is currently waging is an effort to prolong her life.

Some know her as Ms. Lassiter; to others she is Aunt Sherry, Granny or Mrs. Sherry. Up until last year she was the formal owner of Lassiter’s Daycare in Sunbury….that is until a medical diagnosis changed her life.

“I found out I had end-stage primary biliary cirrhosis, a disease of the liver,” she said.

There is no known cure for this disease.

“My doctors at Duke University Medical Center have told me a liver transplant is my only hope for survival,” Brickhouse noted.

While transplants are life-saving measures, they are financially draining. What compounds the issue for Brickhouse is that she is currently unable to work due to her deteriorating health.

“I have no income,” she said. “Although I receive some assistance from Medicaid, it does not cover out-of-pocket expenses such as travel to and from Durham. It also does not cover the astronomical cost of the anti-rejection medication I will need to take for the rest of my life following the liver transplant.”

To help ease the financial burden caused by these medical expenses not covered by insurance, a fundraising campaign has been established in Brickhouse’s honor. The campaign is through HelpHOPELive, a trusted non-profit organization that has been providing community-based fundraising guidance to patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations, which are tax-deductible, are secured by HelpHOPELive in the South Atlantic Liver Transplant Fund. Those funds are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only.

“I thank you in advance for your care, support and contributions; they are critical to the overall success of my struggle. Please know that your contribution, no matter the size, does help,” Brickhouse concluded.

Those wishing to make a donation can make checks payable to HelpHOPELive and note in the memo area of the check that it’s in honor of Sherry Lassiter Brickhouse. Mail the donation to HelpHOPELive, 2 Radnor Corporate Center, 100 Matsonford Road, Suite 100, Radnor, PA 19087.