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In memory of Maria M.







This week we lost another member of the HPS community, Maria M. Maria was waiting for a lung and kidney transplant. She fought very hard to have a shot at living, even undergoing invasive procedures like a kidney biopsy, just for the chance to be listed for new organs.






Maria’s health was complicated. She had more obstacles than the average person to get listed for a transplant. Yet, she never took no for an answer. With every new obstacle, she pushed onward towards her goal.






Maria did make the transplant list for both a lung and a kidney, but like so many others waiting for organs, they never came in time.






Maria was a cherished friend of many in the HPS Network. We all loved her for her steadfast determination and her wonderful sense of humor.






Maria was always looking out for her HPS friends. She handed out HPS Network brochures to her doctors and to the student doctors as she sat in the hospital waiting for her new organs. She gladly participated in research any way she could, even when she wasn’t always able to participate in NIH protocols.






Maria was a wonderful source of inspiration and support to everyone who knew her.






Words can’t express how much she will be missed.






Now, we honor Maria with our tears that, we hope, will water the fertile ground from which will grow the cure.






We love you Maria!


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