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May 1, 2024 17 mins
Please take a moment to listen to my interview wiuth Sandy and her husband Shawn Archer. What a bond, they are an amazing couple and need our help.

A Connecticut woman diagnosed with chronic liver disease is hoping for a live donor. Patients with a living-donor liver transplant may have a longer survival rate and fewer medical issues after the procedure than those who receive a liver from a deceased donor, according to the Mayo Clinic website. 
Sandy (Saucier) Archer of Haddam, 47, was diagnosed in August 2022 with a chronic autoimmune disorder that attacks the liver. She and her family are encouraging people to consider registering as an organ donor. with Yale New Haven Health. “Archer’s physician told her last Summer that she had a 20 percent chance of survival in the next year. Having a living donor allows the recipient to avoid possible health complications while waiting for a transplant, the Mayo Clinic website said”.

To learn more about being a donor, visit registerme.org/campaign/ct.  To learn more about organ transplants, visit ynhh.org/services.
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(00:00):
I hear communities. Thank you somuch for listening. I'm Renee Denino,
and we have a very special programand a very special couple from Connecticut,
from Haddam, Connecticut. We're goingto be speaking with Sean and Sandy Archer.
Now. Sean is a correctional captainfor the Department of Corrections here in
the state of Connecticut. Sandy Archera long time medical professional medical assistant,

(00:21):
and Sandy. Today is all aboutyou and your needs, and we're going
to get to that in a second. But I'm just so glad to have
you both on the line with me. Thank you for being here today.
Well, thank you so much forhaving us and doing this with us.
Absolutely, and Sean, thanks youvery much. Oh my pleasure. When
I heard this story, I knewwe had to get the word out,
and I know you've been doing thatboth yourselves, through friends, through other

(00:44):
different platforms. So hopefully we willget some help because Sandy is a Connecticut
woman diagnosed with chronic liver disease andis hoping for a live donor. Now,
I just want to stay here.I was on the board of directors
for many years for the American LiverFoundation, and I before I knew anything
about that, that would have soundedscary. But the liver is one of

(01:06):
the amazing organs in our bodies thatcan regenerate itself, and you can be
a live liver donor and it willbe okay. Now, having said that,
that's about as far as my medicalknowledge goes, Sandy, you could
certainly correct me if I'm wrong,but tell me a little bit about your
disease. And you were diagnosed ata very young age with chronic autoimmune chronic

(01:29):
autoimmune disorder, so please tell usa little bit about yourself and what you're
going through. So I was onyou know, let me correct that a
little bit. I was diagnosed ata very young age with a you know,
a fatty liver and very high cholesterol. I was always very fit,
very thin, very active, andback then, you know, they didn't

(01:53):
think much of it. They're like, okay, watch your diet. And
then you know, fast forward howmany years, you know, you get
some drinking, some partying whatever intoit, and things progressed. And so
you know, I'm no one whonoticed basically, you know, the yellowing

(02:13):
of my eyes. It just thingsseemed off to me, and so I
went to my doctor, and that'swhere the whole saga started. And so
Sean, you know, how longhave you two been married? So we
were married in August of twenty twentythree, although we've been together just about
twelve years. Okay, had younoticed anything or had you you know,

(02:36):
because sometimes when you live with someone, you're almost like the last person to
see some of the changes that hadyou noticed some things that were different?
Actually, when she brought it tomy attention, I didn't. I actually
asked her about the eye drops thatshe was using, so to whether it
was, you know, turning hereyes yellow. So she goes, no,

(02:57):
I don't think it's that because Istopped it. And so that's when
that's when she we started to reachout to get more information and she went
and saw the doctor. Now thisis pretty serious, you guys, And
I'm obviously that was a horrible thingfor me to say because you're you're going
through it, and it was definitelyan obvious thing. You know. I
don't need to say that to you, but I want to impress that upon

(03:20):
our audience today that you were activelylooking for a life donor, Sandy,
you're on a transplant list. Iwould imagine we are. We're on a
you know, transplant list. Youknow, my husband, Sean went through
tremendous dieting and everything to get himselfinto the best shape that he could,
and uh, you know, wewere on a great path with him being

(03:45):
the donor. Everything was a matchuntil it came down to really the anatomy
and the vessels and everything, whichis what you know, they have to
look at inside the liver and everything, and it's just in depth in his
liver that they can't cut things andremove his that part safely to him.

(04:08):
So we are a little bit alot of it disappointed because he works so
hard to get where he had togut. If you're just joining us right
now and you're interested in being adonor, you can visit register me dot
org, slash campaign, slash ct. You can even visit y NHH dot

(04:29):
org slash services to learn more.We're gonna have all these links live at
mycommunity access dot com. All oftheir links and the story to help them
is going to be listed there.Maybe you're a match. Maybe you can
save a life, because this isdown to being a life saving situation for
you, Sandy, and you beingin the medical profession, could you sort

(04:50):
of break it down and give usa little dose of reality as to what
you're facing. So, I mean, it's been definitely a rollercoaster. You
know, my immune system is sodown that I I really don't go out
too much just because I can getsick really easy. But you don't realize

(05:11):
how much the liver has an impactin your body and everything that it controls,
from the bleeding factors to just everything. So what I'm basically facing is,
you know, now that they've foundout and they figured out that it
is what they call PBC primary biliaryuh cirrhosis colangelitis, they were able to

(05:41):
at least get me on a medicationthat will slow things down, which had
this been caught and diagnosed, youknow, two years ago or so,
I might not be in this predicamentwhere I needed where I needed to have
a transplant. But now that theyou know, the doctors that yell us
and wonderful and amazing, and theygot down to the nitty gritty of things

(06:02):
because it just didn't make sense tothem. You know, I'm not that
old, I'm only forty forty seven, but and they got down to the
nitty gritty of this is what itis. It's an autoimmune disorder. I
don't know if it runs in myfamily. I don't know of anybody on
my mother's side of the family thathave it or have had it, so

(06:28):
I don't know, but you know, it can. At the initial date,
they basically gave me a year ortwenty percent chance of surviving past a
year. So that was pretty scary, especially because I have, you know,
not only my husband, but Ihave my three wonderful boys that I

(06:48):
you know, I live my lifefor. You know, they're They're my
world, you know. I wasjust going over some stats too, and
according to Oregon donor stats, justspeaking specifically of livers. Right as of
September twenty twenty three, they're overten thousand patients waiting for liver donations with
over six thousand transplants performed. Sothis is something that is needed. This

(07:12):
is an opportunity for you to savea life and make a difference. And
again, register me dot org slashcampaign slash CT. I'll have all of
these details up at mycommunity access dotcom. But tell me on a daily
basis, you know, and Sean, I'd love to hear from you as
well. I mean, what doyou what does your day look like together?
Because it's obviously not I mean,what is normal anyways. You know,

(07:35):
you said you've got your three children, you're you're married, you've jobs
things like that. The household thingsprobably look a little different. So maybe
Sandy will start with you what doesa typical day look like for you?
And then Sean, please just jumpin and tell us and take us through
your day living with this new life. Sure, yeah, you know,

(07:56):
I only we only have the oneat home because our our kids. You
know, he has two daughters,so I have also two step daughters and
my two boys, my older twoboys are not in the house in you
know, I'm also a grandmother.But we also have h We have our
little guy who's ten, who youknow, who can be a handful too.
So it's a daily thing trying toget him to understand of what's going

(08:20):
on, and it can be scarywith him, and then you know,
just with everybody else, you know, our kids just being really you know,
scared. His his oldest daughter justgot married and she was very upset
and scared for the fact that youknow, what if I don't have you
guys at the wedding and you know, trying to make that promise. It
was hard to do, but Isaid, nope, I'll be We'll be

(08:41):
there, you know, I promise. So it is a hard everyday to
day to day thing. I getup with Aiden. He's a struggle in
the morning, but once he getsoff to school, I try to do
some stuff around the house. Ido have good days that I get this
bout of energy, but I doget exhausted very fast. Or if I'm

(09:05):
out and I'm having a great dayand I do do things, or whether
I go grocery shoping and some stufflike that, the next day really kind
of sets me in for a while. Yeah, so pretty much my day,
I get up, I go towork. I pick up whatever shifts
I can on the overtime side ofit, to just make sure that we

(09:26):
got enough income coming in. Butit's it's stressful. We like Sandy said,
you know, with my little guy. He you know, it's difficult
for him. It's I couldn't evencomprehend how he's handling this ten years old.

(09:46):
So we try to keep him busy. Got him through base you know,
doing baseball, going to church andbaseball, and you know, doing
activities with him to try to keephis mind, you know, easy with
the whole situation. My you know, throughout the day, it's rough.

(10:07):
It's rough on on my son,it's rough on you know, me because
we you know, we worry aboutwhat is going on with Sandy at home,
you know, so it's it's constantly, you know, we'll call up,
you know, he'll do check incalls, you know, throughout the
day to kind of eat his mind. And you know, I get nervous

(10:28):
that if I try to text her, I call her, she doesn't answer.
I know she's sleeping, but it'sstill you have the uneasy feeling.
So the whole the whole situation ispretty pretty stressful. I mean it's it
sounds as such, and my heartjust goes out to you guys, and
I'm hoping with all of the media, all of the interviews, all of

(10:50):
the press, that a miracle willhappen for you and you know, Sandy,
just like as you were saying,what are some of the effects on
your daily life, like what doyou so is it like you know,
the low energy, the episode,stomach, the like what are you faced
with on a daily basis that younever know on a daily basis, I
can go from anywhere with my I'vebecome hypoglycemic, so I have to wear

(11:13):
a monitor because my sugar can dropand it can drop very fast. So
that's one thing. So I dowear a monitor, and I'm at home,
I could sometimes feel myself shaking,but if I'm sleeping, I'll sleep
through it, and you know,Sean will be like, all right,
the alarms going off and he'll callme. You need to have a snack,

(11:35):
you need to get up, youknow, from bleeding wise to you
know, just my body just notwanting to just being in pain all the
time, from stomach aches to headachesto everything. So it's just a it's
just weird. It's not like I'mused to. So it's a daily people.

(11:58):
Bleeding stuff is The bleeding stuff istough because her gums will bleed and
her you know, should get bloodynoses, So that's always tough. Yeah,
and they can be you know,you know, they can be pretty
bad bloody noses to the point whereit's like do I go to the hospital
and have them pack? And youknow, do I How can I get

(12:18):
it? I don't have any clottingfactors. You know, this is just
something that the liver attacks everything andthen you don't realize that. Yeah,
I mean, the liver is thepowerhouse the body. Everything you're doing right
now, everybody, if you're holdinga pen, if you're touching anything,
it goes through your skin and ithas to pass through your liver and that's
how it gets processed. I mean, the liver is truly, next to

(12:41):
the heart, the most important organin your body. Which is why when
I got this press release, Iknew I wanted to do something for you.
I wish that I could do moreother than offer this voice up for
you. And if someone is listeningright now to become an organ donor.
Maybe you won't match for seeing maybeSandy, maybe you'll match with somebody else,

(13:01):
but at least if you can,you know, get on the registry.
See what you can do. Andit is life saving. And you
know you're you're too young to havethis. This happened to you, and
as a wife and a mother,aunt, a grandmother also, you might
be too young to be a grandmatoo, But I have a little bit,
but I mean, you know,this is this is something that we
all have to to take. Thisis where we need the community, right

(13:22):
we need the community to rally andat least share the story if if if
nothing else, share this story,the interview, the links everything at my
community access dot com. You know, Sean and and Sandy, you sound
like just such a wonderful couple.You know, when we are with someone,
when we marry someone, we wesay are vows, we take the
oath, we we promise to bewith each other. And and Sandy,

(13:46):
how important has Sean been to youand been for you? Sean my rock?
I mean I probably I wouldn't behere. I wouldn't be able to
stay home and have gotten taken outof work. He does everything, he's
you know, he's the love ofmy life and it always has been since

(14:07):
they one of me meeting him.And you know, it kind of took
this turn for us to realize,let's do this, let's let's go ahead
and let's get married. We're readyfor it. But I can't ask for
anybody else too, that would bejust that. I'm just thankful. I'm
so thankful that he's mine. You'remine. You're making us, You're making

(14:31):
everybody tear up. Sandy. Sean, you you get, you get an
award for a husband of the millennium. But you know, I mean for
for people who have that love,that have that connection that you and Sandy
have. Most people would say,you don't even think about it, You
just do it because she's she's yoursweetheart. Right, So tell me,

(14:52):
Sean, what what has this beenlike for you and watching this and how
has it been for you as well? It has been very tough, you
know. I don't I don't sharea lot, kind of keep to kind
of to myself, although it's beenI'm sorry. Yeah, it seems that

(15:15):
it's a lot. He's not beenan emotional man our whole relationship, and
this has really gotten to him.Yeah, it's been. I'm sorry.
It's been rough. You know.Like I said, I don't say too
much, but it's been hard andand it's hard to know that I want
to do so much and there's onlyso much that I can do, you

(15:37):
know. And going back to thegetting the news about deliver or not being
able to donate, that was,uh, it was devastating. It was
devastating. It's a you know,it's still we're still not over that.
Yeah. Well, maybe maybe thisinterview will inspire some hope. Maybe as

(15:58):
we're talking now someone is a match. You know, miracles happen, and
I wish a miracle for you,Sandy and and Sean. You're not done
together yet. And I hope someonelistening right now will visit register me dot
org, slash campaign slash ct orYale their site, y n h H
dot org slash services. I Iwill like to I would like to follow

(16:22):
this through. We'll continue to haveyou on links up at mycommunity access dot
com. If you're just joining usright now, you can google Sandy Archer.
There's been paper, there's been stories, You've been in the media.
Now you're here on iHeartRadio, andhopefully more media will cover this. It's
it's you know, you're in myheart and a part of the family here
now. So we're hoping that wecan help find you a liver, a

(16:45):
live liver donor. Uh it's it'ssounds, you know, if people would
just look it up. I mean, your liver can your liver can handle
it. Although there's it's there's alot to it. Uh, your liver,
your liver can handle the donation.And we hope that you will consider
the Archers. So thank you fortelling your story and sharing I appreciate you
both very much, and I knowwe're going to stay in touch, so

(17:08):
I thank so much for having usgotten. Yes, thank you, this
is amazing. Thank you so much. Well, God bless and and you
know, please let us know,give us updates, and I know we'll
stay connected. Please go to mycommunity access dot com to hear this story
again, to get connected to allthe links to find out if you might
even be a possible donor for SandyArcher. Thank you for being on iHeart Communities.
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