A Lehigh Valley woman in need of a kidney donor is hoping her new billboard catches your eye– and it could wind up saving her life.
A Lehigh Valley woman hopes a billboard on Route 22 will help save her life.
Elizabeth Shafer of Northampton County was placed on the national transplant list after dealing with kidney issues for 35 years.
Her kidneys are failing rapidly however, and the wait for a donor organ could be up to six years.
“My kidney function is about 12 [percent], so it’s getting a lot worse,” Shafer said. “I probably won’t last four more years at the rate I’m going. The list is long and people are dying every day.”
Fortunately, Shafer received a gift from a stranger that may help save her life.
Jason Wilson, co-owner of Tri-Outdoor Inc., a billboard company, put up a sign on Route 22 that encourages drivers to “help save a life.” The billboard then directs people to visit Shafer’s Facebook page, Kidney for Lizzy.
Before Wilson’s company put up the billboard, Shafer didn’t think she would be able to find a kidney in time.
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“It meant that I have a chance to live, there is hope. I didn’t have hope before,” Shafer said.
While Wilson has never met Shafer, he believes that helping others is the right thing to do.
“If you can just help one [person] and pass it along and pay it forward, do it,” Wilson said.
Shafer hopes the billboard will help her find a donor so that she can spend more time with her two kids and seven grandchildren.
“They are my life that’s all I live for are those kids,” Shafer said. “I’m not ready to go so I will do what I have to do. I’ll fight as hard as I can to live another day.”
