Friends’ Living liver Donation Provides Perspective As Bernie Faces Transplant Recovery
USA: In Northridgeville, two longtime teacher friends, Julie Bugala and Lucia Swindig, stand as a living example of what organ donation can achieve. Julie developed a rare liver disease, and in April Lucia made the decision to become a living donor, giving 60 percent of her liver to save Julie’s life. The operation restored Julie’s health and left both women bonded by the intensity of the surgery and the months that followed.
The donation was explicitly a living-lobe liver transplant, with Lucia supplying the majority of a regenerating organ to her friend. Julie describes daily gratitude for the second chance and emphasizes the disciplined, often painful work of recovery: small choices, persistence, and the will to rise each morning even when it hurts. The pair have been best friends for 15 years, and their relationship provided the moral and practical foundation for the decision to proceed with such a major, deliberate gift.
Their experience now informs the support they are offering to Bernie Kozar, who is confronting his own transplant journey. Julie and Lucia stress that the transplant represents both a new beginning and a difficult rehabilitation; family support, prayer, and a determined, positive outlook are essential components of the healing process. They speak to the reality that receiving an organ brings a precious opportunity but also a long course of recovery and work to reclaim daily life.
The account of a living liver donation is presented alongside notice that a heart transplant recipient will be profiled to illustrate why organ donation matters across different procedures. Together, these stories underscore the tangible impact of living and deceased donors, the courage of recipients and donors, and the practical resilience required after transplantation. Each participant is portrayed with respect for the gravity of their choices and the recovery that follows.
