Goldie Williams

Type of Donation:          liver recipient

Age and Location:          Age 38 – Oakland, CA

Donation Date:             6/13/2022

Sponsor:                   Honored by Donor Network West with CPMC

GOLDIE’S STORY

“I never really thought about my liver…until it was the only thing I could think about.” Goldie Williams had been a working mom her entire adult life. When she wasn’t working or taking care of her kids, she raised money for social causes and organized mutual aid drives in her community.

When she finally got some time off at the beginning of 2022, she looked forward to diving wholeheartedly into these passion projects. But the universe had other plans. She started feeling a little off: nauseated, tired, itchy with mysterious bruising on her legs and back. It wasn’t until she woke up one morning with yellow eyes that she knew something was seriously wrong.

On May 31, 2022, Goldie went into an Oakland ER. After extensive testing, meeting new doctors, encephalopathy, questions, tears, fears, cheers and hugs, Goldie was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis and was quickly listed for a liver transplant with a 1A status.

Her life was saved on June 13 with a donor liver transplant at CPMC in San Francisco going home to her loving family in Oakland a few days later. “Thank you for being my friend through this,” she told the doctors and nurses who kept her alive through her whirlwind two-week hospitalization.

Goldie is currently in recovery; a journey in and of itself. She finds comfort in the grounding miracles of science, the knowledge of her liver team, her family and support system - boyfriend Amol, children Lorelai, Rishi and Casper, their goofy dog Jerome, parents Nancy and Roger, siblings Olivia and Jason. In addition to her community of friends, she has also added doctors, nurses, specialists, and transplant recipients (both current and future) she has encountered over the last few months.

In the wake of this life-changing experience, she looks forward to bringing organ donation advocacy to the forefront of her work.

“Every single day I’m thankful for my donor and my donor’s family for this incredible, selfless gift. As tribute to my donor and their family, I spend my days loving life in new ways, and I will do my part to make this world a bit better.”