Support Russ Mills (2026)

28/07/2025

Hey team!

Long time, no update!
Russ graduated from needing liver stents today!
A while ago, his enzyme numbers started to increase a bit, and after taking a look, there was some scarring and narrowing in the main liver ducts.
He had stents put in to widen them back out!

Then, he needed to go up a size…. And then he needed to go up one more size. Now, he’s all done!
We are super thankful for his medical team and their continued diligence with his care!
We are also continuously overwhelmed with gratitude for his donor and their family. This donor’s gift to our family… we are so grateful.
❤️❤️❤️

18/12/2024

Happy Rusty Lived Week!
It has been exactly one year since Rusty entered the operating theatre for the first of two transplants.
Time is funny... it both seems like this happened just yesterday and it seems like he's been doing better forever!
Because... he really is doing SO well. Recovery from such a life-threatening ordeal is long and slow, but he stuck with it and we are beyond grateful.
Rusty did have to have one small procedure a few weeks ago to place a stent in order to help get around some scar tissue. He will have to undergo that a couple more times but he said it wasn't bad!
He has more energy, he is back at work, he is able to play with his grandbabies... it has been such a beautiful gift to watch the life come back into him.

We also want to actively remember his donor and their loved ones today. Their loss and the grief they will continue to feel is palpable. Nothing can make that go away... but we hope and pray that they feel a tiny bit of solace from knowing that someone they love helped someone else have a second chance at life.
To remember and honor them today, please have a conversation with the people you love about being an organ donor. The more conversations like these you have, the easier it will be for those in your life to honor your wishes.

Thank you so much for every way you've supported my dad and our family over the past year. We love you!

28/02/2024

Hey everyone!
It is now been two months and ten days since Russ’s liver and kidney transplant surgeries began and as we approach his birthday, March 2nd, I thought I’d give a small update ❤️
He went down to Indy for his normal appointments a couple weeks ago and was officially cleared to drive AND cleared to return to work! They also canceled some appointments he’ll no longer need! 🤩
The beautiful organs from his donor are working so well. It is, honestly, very difficult to find the right words to express our gratitude for this gift.
He’s found a little treat he enjoys eating, mini donuts(!), and food is becoming slightly more delectable for him with each passing week.
I have a feeling that he’ll be jogging laps around the rest of us soon!
As his kid, I am so thrilled to be able to celebrate his birthday this year and can’t wait for all the rest of the birthdays we will now have with him ❤️

07/02/2024

Hey guys!
Russ posted on his own page today!! Here is his message to everyone:

"Just a note to let you all know that 7 weeks post double organ transplant, I am doing very well. There is no pain and the numbers on my new liver and kidney are perfect. My incisions have healed (and actually look pretty cool…haha). My appetite has been slow to return but is improving. In the meantime, I continue to lose weight… I’m now down to my 18 year old weight of 175 lbs!
I appreciate the prayers and support received from family, friends and colleagues all over the world. The response has been both humbling and overwhelming. All I can do is say Thank you!
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge and say thank you to the family of the donor that provided my healthy new organs. One day I may learn who you are and be able to personally say thank you for the gift of life that your tragedy provided to me. God Bless You!"

21/01/2024

Long time, no update!

Russ is home and is doing pretty well!
He’s moving around on steady feet though he still feels pretty weak. Considering it’s only been about a month- we’re very pleased. He has weekly appointments and they’re monitoring his labs very closely and so far there haven’t been any major concerns!

One prayer request would be that his appetite starts to come back a bit more quickly…. It’s very common after such huge surgeries and prolonged procedures for the appetitite to stay diminished… but we’d all love it if his tastebuds woke up faster!

Thank you all for your continued prayers.
We love you!

10/01/2024

Good morning everyone!

RUSS IS COMING HOME!!
Kirsten is picking him up tomorrow at 3:00 in hopes to beat the inclement weather this weekend.
He still has a lot of work to do, but we are so glad that we'll be able to work with him and help him from home!

04/01/2024

Happy New Year everyone!

A lot has happened in these few days- Russ was moved out of the ICU and into the normal transplant ward. They learned that his blood pressure has always been on the lower side, so they checked him over with the averages his family doc provided and said he was good to go!
He also had a visit by his sisters for a couple days and that was wonderful. They helped move him to his new room and he walked all the way there!
Today, they’re moving him into the rehab facility just down the road from the hospital. He will have sessions of different therapies throughout the day while he stays there. It is going to be hard work, but it is one step closer to his homecoming!
We are overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone and everything ❤️

30/12/2023

I got to spend all day with Russ yesterday! We had a pretty good time. He’s still hanging out in the ICU because of that pesky blood pressure, otherwise he shares that he is actually feeling okay. He has very little pain, and the team says that the organs are performing just fine.

We’re all a little frustrated as to why his BP is still so low, and because they’ve not quite figured that out yet, they don’t have a timetable for breaking him out of the ICU and moving him on to a rehab facility.
We did talk him into getting a feeding tube- which is zero fun… but major surgery and long periods of anesthesia can actually make it difficult to want to eat anything. So getting some extra support in terms of calories will
hopefully get him on the right track.

One of the positives about his lengthened stay in the transplant ICU is a nurse by the name of Joe. All of the nurses have been amazing, but Joe has earned a special place in all our hearts. He is a pretty cool guy and he has meant a lot to Russ.

Anyway- he shared this photo to his Instagram story yesterday, so I figured it was safe to share here! It is a before and after feeding tube placement 😂 he was definitely a bit more smiley in the BEFORE photo ❤️ but this is just one step closer to being home.

29/12/2023

An Open Letter to the families of Organ Donors,

Thank you. I wish the English language had bigger words to express gratitude… Those two words seem far too small to hold the hundreds of emotions that accompany these circumstances.

In the hardest moment in your life, you made an extremely selfless choice. In the depths of your shock and grief, you actively chose to give hope to others. That legacy will impact the recipients and their families for the rest of their lives.

Recipients may never learn who you are and you may never know where your gift made an impact, but someday, we hope you feel peace. We hope you know that your choice has given a wonderful human a chance to continue living. We hope you know that the recipients have thought of you and your family member every day since they were told a donation is necessary to heal.

Loss is not unknown to the majority of humanity… the pain and grief that comes with losing someone you deeply love is visceral. Actor Andrew Garfield famously shared that grief is all the unexpressed love you have for who was lost. Along with that, I found the attached image concerning grief many years ago from a website called The Ralph Site, and it has stuck with me.
That pain of loss never really changes, it is an ever-present companion. But our ability to grow and change alongside this companion is when things become slightly more bearable. We hope the ebbs and flows of time allow this to happen for you and your unexpressed love.

Your family is now a part of the recipient’s family. Your family will be lifted up and thought about and mentioned in conversation as long as they live. Because of you and your loved one’s selfless choice, another family’s loved one has been able to remain earth-side. Despite wishing that pages and pages of meaningful and important words could be funneled into these two, they’re what we have…
Thank you.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A dear friend and colleague shared her family’s experience as loved ones of an organ donor earlier this year. She said that, oftentimes, medical professionals won’t even think about looking at the organ donor status on your driver’s license. The best thing you can do, if you’re interested in being an organ donor, is to have that conversation with your family members. Let them know your wishes so, if the unimaginable happens, they know how to move forward. For all of you who have had those conversations and are willing to give the gift of life, we thank you, too.

26/12/2023

Merry Christmas everyone ❤️
We were all able to be together in Russ’s room today. He was pretty alert this morning, but snoozed a lot through the afternoon.

As we were leaving to head home, the team started to more aggressively monitor his blood pressure. It is lower than they’d like to see. Because of that, they’re swinging him back into the transplant ICU as of around 8:00pm until they have things figured out.

It will be a week tomorrow that he was given the gift of a liver and a week from Wednesday the gift of a kidney… We’re trying to remind ourselves to be patient, but we’re just so eager to see him feeling better.
He’s in good hands but we still covet all prayers and good vibes ❤️

24/12/2023

Just got off the phone with Russ!
They’re freeing him from all sorts of tubes and he is grateful! They’re also moving him into a different room! We’re one step closer to being out of the transplant ICU.
We are also very grateful to share that the staff will let the family be together on Christmas day! I’ll try to talk him into a photo ❤️
Love you all - Merry Christmas!

22/12/2023

Good evening!

Russ was up and sitting in a chair today! They’re still working to manage his pain, but I spoke with him on the phone and he sounded even stronger than yesterday.
Grateful doesn’t even begin to cover it ❤️

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