Family pursues a 'Lively' fight

(Photo submitted) Surrounded by his wife and two children, 34-year-old Jeff Lively of Laurens is fighting for his life.

The chances for Jeff Lively, a 34-year-old family man who lives in Laurens, are worth fighting for.

Without a heart transplant, his wife Amie, 6-year-old son Orion Jeffrey, 3-year-old daughter Angelina Devine and mother Jacquelene Lively don't know how much longer he'll survive.

Because doctors have painted a critical picture and his health is deteriorating on a daily basis, the Lively family is asking for help.

They're in search of prayers, financial contributions and fundraising assistance to ensure that Lively receives the first steps toward a heart transplant. And, because he's known as being "the heart of his family," they're reciprocating by fighting to see that it does happen.

"This is a fight for life," his mother, of rural Curlew, said.

When asked what's keeping them moving forward, she answered, "Hope, faith and not wanting to let go."

The man and his family's quest for life

Born in Texas, Lively's mother reported her son, unbeknownst to them, was born with a heart defect.

"When he was a child, his eyes and lips would turn purple," she recalled. "I'd tell his pediatricians and, of course, they would just pat me on the head and say, 'That's OK. Don't worry about it. It's normal.'"

"Well, I knew it wasn't," she said. "I wish they would have listened to me then. But, he grew extra vessels for the blood to go through, from what I understand as I'm told, and that's how he has survived this long."

Lively's mother described her son as being "very loyal and devoted to family and friends."

"He would give to anybody if they needed it," she said.

Also a very independent person, Lively began working at the age of 15. His former job as a Gold Star machinist brought him to Iowa 10 years ago. He coupled his machinist job with part-time work on area farmer Harry Reese's farm.

But, the well-paying job and the 10-acre Laurens farm he and his wife were buying "came to a screeching halt," Lively's mother reported, after he suffered a massive heart attack in February 2007. While doctors were skeptical that he'd live through the first one, Lively did.

By his second major heart attack, which occurred on March 1, they once again doubted, but Lively beat the odds again.

While he's had a handful of stents placed, undergone repeated angioplasties and had an intra-aortic balloon pump inserted, Lively's mother said doctors have reiterated that he won't make it through a third heart attack.

Dr. Joseph Cookman, a hopeful Fort Dodge cardiologist, recently referred Lively to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for a heart transplant.

Since the chronic congestive heart failure patient is too weak to hold a job, the cost of transportation, accommodations, medicine and general expenses are beyond the family's reach.

In search of an answer, Lively's mother started the Cans for Heart Campaign.

"They've lost just about everything. They even lost each other for a while," she said of her son's family. "But, he loves his family more than life itself. That's what he lives for -- his family."

Before he can be placed on a transplant list, though, Lively is scheduled to undergo extensive testing at Mayo the week of Sept. 28. His mother said they'll decide then whether to insert a left ventricular assist device, which could buy him enough time for a heart transplant.

"Jeff is the heart of his family," she added. "We're fighting really hard to raise funds to help him. He has to pay for his own accommodations when he goes to Rochester, and that's the extra expense that we're fighting for right now."

Once Lively is notified that he is a suitable candidate for a heart transplant, his family will be required to relocate in Rochester, Minn., for a minimum of six months.

___

Financial contributions on behalf of Jeff Lively may be made to:

Harry Reese

Iowa Trust & Savings Bank

202 W. Main St.

Laurens, Iowa 50554

Redeemable cans and bottles may be turned in for the Cans for Heart Campaign at:

Nickel Depot

1721 First Ave. W.

Spencer, Iowa

Additional information about heart transplant-hopeful Jeff Lively is available online at:

www.savemydaddy.ning.com

www.myspace.com/savemydaddy

http://savemydaddy.blogspot.com/

http://savemydaddy.livejournal.com/