Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

Local Musician Donating Liver to Mother

While the name Debbie Holwegner may not sound familiar, her daughter and grandson's voices might. Jessica Jane Hegg and her son Jaxon frequently perform at Whitehall's Beats & Eats events. At one point you may have had their duet, Fishin' for Chickens, stuck in your head. Now, this mother of two is working to accomplish a miracle by donating two-thirds of her liver to her mother, Debbie Holwegner - a grandmother you might find it in your heart to support.

Debbie, of Manhattan, MT, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colorectal Cancer on November 24, 2014. She has undergone years of chemo, radiation, multiple surgeries, and several hospitalizations. Unfortunately, both the treatments and the cancer itself have taken a toll on her liver and are causing it to slowly shut down. This grandma's cancer has never metastasized anywhere except her liver in the past seven and a half years. Because of this, she has qualified for a transplant that will ultimately give her a second chance to live a more comfortable and better quality of life. Her surgery is scheduled for August 30, 2022.

Jessica has never given up the hope of her mother's recovery and, once she was cleared to donate her liver, immediately set up a fundraising event to help. This event will be held Saturday, August 13, 2022, from 5 PM - 9 PM at the Story Mill Community Park in Bozeman. The event will include music with Jessica, as well as her children Jaxon and Ruby, artwork, BBQ, baked goods, and more. Any little donation to this tax-deductible effort will help, as Jessica will be out of work for at least three months after the operation.

Statistically, Debbie's survival odds were slim in the beginning, but she has always kept a positive, "I've got this" and "I can-cer vive" attitude.

Debbie will need to relocate to Salt Lake City for a minimum of 3 months after her transplant surgery. Although she has insurance, donations raised will help with relocation expenses, lodging, post-transplant care, and medications to name a few.

Debbie and Jessica learned about Help Hope Live during a visit to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. They are an incredible, trusted, nonprofit organization that has been helping families since 1983. A fundraising campaign has been set up and is available at https://helphopelive.org/campaign/20531. For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.

 

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