Saved by A Stranger: Life Changing Journeys of Transplant Patients

by Lezlee Peterzell-Bellanich

Overview

​      Saved by a Stranger is an honest, down-to-earth, informative book inspiring hope, perseverance, and triumph for those who are facing the need for a new organ. Through great storytelling, the author helps patients and caregivers feel empowered as they face the challenges of the unknown. 

After battling a rare autoimmune disorder called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) for 18 years, which led to cirrhosis, author Lezlee Peterzell-Bellanich's husband, Capt. Rob finally received his life-saving liver transplant on September 10, 2020, at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Today, he looks and feels like a healthy man with a new engine inside of him. 

I wrote this to help me get through this difficult time and encourage everyone to sign up for Organ donation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781737138839
Publisher:	Leslie Peterzell-Bellanich
Publication date:	11/12/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	207
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

After 18 years of marriage, the life of Lezlee Peterzell-Bellanich, singer/songwriter and business owner, took a dramatic turn. Saved by a Stranger is the story of her husband's harrowing quest for a liver transplant. With their two children, the Bellanich family temporarily relocated from New York to Florida during the height of the Covid pandemic. This bold additional upheaval would increase Rob's chances of receiving a deceased organ. Meeting weekly with fellow transplant patients and caregivers at Mayo Clinic's support group, the couple found solace and encouragement from these survivors' stories.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Saved by a Stranger —

"As an organ donor recipient, I wholeheartedly endorse this book because these are the stories that we all lived through."

- Jerry Rosenberg, liver transplant recipient

"This is truly an inspiring and well-told account of one family's journey through organ transplantation.

What makes this incredibly enlightening is that the author interviewed other recipients and medical professionals to help create a book that answers many of the questions and unknowns surrounding this life-giving process, thereby encouraging others to become donors. The mystery surrounding organ donor ship needs to be removed, and this invaluable gift must be given without hesitation.

I recommend this book to anyone with a family member who may need an organ transplant."

—Susan Caples, Founder and President of the Katie Caples Foundation

Lezlee Peterzell-Bellanich welcomes readers into the heart, soul, and struggle of her family as they journey through the process of her husband's liver transplant, bringing to life the incredible people she meets along the way— health care workers, patients, and fellow caregivers. Her warm, humorous voice creates a chorus of stories, all leading back to the power and necessity of connection.

—Rosemary Farrell, Senior Librarian, Nyack Library

From the Publisher