Gift of Life

This week on Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast, we meet Steven Gregory, a musician whose life was built around faith, family, and music alongside his wife. Like so many transplant journeys, Steven’s story began with what seemed like a normal life… until everything suddenly changed.

In his mid-50s, Steven learned he was suffering from cardiomyopathy, a diagnosis that would turn his world upside down. What followed was a difficult and emotional battle that led to a hospital stay lasting four and a half months. During that time, Steven spent nearly 100 days connected to a balloon pump while waiting and praying for the gift that could save his life.

Through every setback, every uncertain day, and every difficult moment, Steven says his faith carried him through.

Then came the call that changed everything — a life-saving heart transplant.

In this powerful and emotional episode, Steven shares:
• His life before heart failure changed everything
• The shocking diagnosis of cardiomyopathy
• What it was like spending months hospitalized waiting for hope
• The physical and emotional challenges of living on a balloon pump
• How faith, prayer, and family helped him keep going
• The moment he received the call for his new heart
• His gratitude for organ donation and the second chance he’s been given

Today, Steven is slowly getting back to normal life, returning to the music he loves, and embracing each day with gratitude and renewed purpose.

This episode is a reminder that even during life’s darkest moments, hope, faith, and the gift of organ donation can bring healing and new beginnings.

Let’s Stay Connected:

Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast

Listen and share on your favorite podcast platform.

BJ Odom’s book
More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget… Grab your copy today: Available on Amazon in paperback & eBook!

If this episode touched your heart, help us spread the message:
Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platforms.
Share this episode with family and friends. Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings. Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.

This week on Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast, we meet Sonja Dalbey, whose journey began the day she was born.



Diagnosed as a “blue baby,” Sonja faced serious heart challenges from the very beginning of her life. But as she grew older, doctors discovered her condition was far more complicated than anyone first realized. During a heart catheterization in third grade, her family learned that her heart problems went much deeper than expected.



What followed was a lifetime filled with uncertainty, surgeries, setbacks, resilience, and hope.



Through every up and down, Sonja continued fighting forward with courage and faith. Years later, after enduring a lifetime of heart complications, she reached the point where a heart transplant became her only option for survival.



In this emotional and inspiring episode, Sonja shares:



• What it was like growing up as a child with congenital heart disease
• Discovering the seriousness of her condition at a young age
• The surgeries and medical challenges she faced throughout life
• The difficult road that eventually led to heart transplant
• The gratitude she carries for her donor and second chance at life
• The overwhelming blessing of living long enough to see her grandchild born



Sonja’s story is a powerful reminder of perseverance, faith, and the incredible gift of organ donation. Her journey shows how hope can carry us through even the hardest seasons of life.



Let’s Stay Connected:



Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com



Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast



Listen and share on your favorite podcast platform.



BJ Odom’s book
More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget… Grab your copy today: Available on Amazon in paperback & eBook!



If this episode touched your heart, help us spread the message:



Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platforms. Share this episode with family and friends. Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings.



Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.

This week on Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast, we meet Garry with 2 R’s Katz, a man whose journey has already been filled with battles, strength, and determination. After defeating cancer, Garry now faces another life-changing challenge… kidney failure.



In this heartfelt episode, Garry shares the emotional reality of living on dialysis, the daily struggles that come with kidney disease, and the hope he continues to hold onto while waiting for the gift of a life-saving kidney transplant. His story is honest, inspiring, and a powerful reminder of why organ donation matters so deeply.



Garry’s courage, humor, and positive spirit shine through as he opens up about navigating uncertainty while continuing to fight for more time, more memories, and a second chance at life.



Please take a moment to learn more about Garry’s journey and how you may be able to help by visiting:
www.helpingGarry.com



Let’s Stay Connected:



Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com



Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast



Listen and share on your favorite podcast platform.



BJ Odom’s book:
More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget… Grab your copy today: Available on Amazon in paperback & eBook!



If this episode touched your heart, help us spread the message:
Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform.
Share this episode with family and friends. Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings.



Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.

In this powerful episode of Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast, we meet Robbie Knutson, whose journey began long before he ever knew a transplant would become part of his story.



Born premature, Robbie faced health challenges from the very beginning. At just 16 years old, he began experiencing breathing difficulties and learned there was a possibility he could develop emphysema—the same disease that affected his mother. Hoping for a better quality of life, Robbie moved and for a time things seemed to improve. But over the years, breathing slowly became more difficult, and everyday tasks that once seemed simple became exhausting.



Eventually, even making it through a workday became nearly impossible.



Determined to find answers and hope, Robbie traveled to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where doctors delivered life-changing news: he would need a double lung transplant.



What followed was a journey filled with uncertainty, faith, patience, and courage.



Then came the call that would save his life.



Thanks to the incredible gift of organ donation from Mason and his family, Robbie received his life-saving double lung transplant and was given a second chance at life.



In this inspiring episode, Robbie shares:
• Growing up premature and facing early health struggles
• Learning he could face the same disease as his mother
• The gradual decline that changed his everyday life
• The emotional journey to the Mayo Clinic
• Hearing the words “double lung transplant”
• Receiving the life-saving call
• His gratitude to Mason and the donor family who made his second chance possible
• His message of hope for others facing transplant journeys



Robbie’s story is a reminder that organ donation doesn’t just save lives—it restores hope, purpose, and precious moments that might otherwise be lost.



Let’s Stay Connected:



Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com



Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast



Listen and share on your favorite podcast platform.



BJ Odom’s book
More Parts Than A Chicken Nugget… Available on Amazon in paperback & eBook!



If this episode touched your heart, help us spread the message:
Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform. Share this episode with family and friends. Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings.



Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.

In this heartfelt episode of Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast, we meet Leah Holverson and hear the powerful story of her unexpected journey to a heart transplant.



What first began as a strange and concerning episode eventually seemed to pass without answers. But less than a year later, the symptoms returned several more times. In July of 2022, Leah was placed on a heart monitor as doctors searched for answers. Even then, she never imagined that a heart transplant would one day become part of her future.



By 2024, Leah learned the life-changing news that she would need a heart transplant.



Through fear, uncertainty, and the waiting process, Leah leaned on the support of family, friends, and an incredible medical team. Thanks to the selfless gift of organ donation and the dedication of her doctors, Leah’s story became one of hope, healing, and a successful heart transplant.



Her journey is a reminder of how quickly life can change and how powerful faith, love, and community can be during the hardest moments.



Let’s Stay Connected:



Email: giftoflifepodcast@gmail.com



Facebook: Gift of Life – The Organ Transplant Podcast



Listen and share on your favorite podcast platform.



BJ Odom’s book More Parts Than a Chicken Nugget is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook.



If this episode touched your heart, help us spread the message:
Subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform.
Share this episode with family and friends.



Together, we’re raising awareness, honoring donors, and celebrating new beginnings.



Thank you for being part of our life-giving community.