“I am forever grateful that my daughter was a good match,” Walker said.

Kristen Hovey, of Fort Dodge, was inspired by a friend’s son to apply to be a living organ donor and after a few months, she met a mother from Texas who was desperately searching for a living liver donor for her son. Hovey flew down to Texas to undergo the testing needed to see if she was a match for Isaac.

Hovey was able to stay with her brother, Matt, who lives in Texas, during the process and her job allowed her to take six weeks paid time off for the organ donation surgery and recovery afterward.

“Jesus stepped in, and he gets all the credit for all of this,” Hovey said.

-Submitted photo
Liz Markert, center, stands with liver transplant recipient Marylou Walker, left, and living liver donor Kristen Hovey, right. Walker received a partial liver transplant from her daughter, April Wilson, in 2019, and last year Hovey donated part of her liver to a teenage boy in Texas.

The transplant surgery was a success and Hovey was able to celebrate a huge milestone with Isaac recently.

“I flew down to Texas just a couple months ago for our one year ‘liver-versary’ and I got to meet all of Isaac’s family,” Hovey said. “We were perfect strangers before this, and now I have a whole new family in Texas.”

Stories like Walker’s and Hovey’s aren’t uncommon, but Liz Markert would like to see more stories like theirs. Markert’s daughter’s life was saved not once, but twice, by organ donation. Although Emily Markert passed away nine years ago, Liz Markert has kept her daughter’s legacy alive by spreading awareness and advocating for eye, organ and tissue donation.

For nearly the last decade, Liz Markert has organized an annual 5K walk/run in honor of her late daughter. This year’s Emily’s Fight Donate Life event will be this Saturday in Manson. The race starts at Manson Floral Hall on Main Street and registration will be from 7:15 to 8:15 a.m., with the race beginning at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $25 and includes a T-shirt, food and water.

To register or make a donation, go to getmeregistered.com/emilymarkerts5k.

-Submitted photo
Kristen Hovey, of Fort Dodge, stands with Isaac, a teenage boy in Texas who she donated part of her liver to last year. Isaac was a complete stranger, yet Hovey felt called to give him the gift of life.

Emily Markert was 32 years old when she died in 2014. In her last months, she dedicated her time to raising awareness for organ donation and the need for both living and deceased donors.

At just 17, a sudden and severe lung condition led the teen to need a bilobar — or partial — lung transplant. A successful transplant with lobes donated from her uncles Don and Larry Fitzgerald was completed in October 1999, and she later graduated from Manson Northwest Webster High School in 2000. A few years later, her body began to reject the lobes and she went back on the organ waiting list. A second double-lung transplant completed in February 2006 gave her back her life.

Emily Markert became an advocate for the Iowa Donor Network and the hundreds of Iowans waiting for donor organs at any given time. She came up with the idea to organize a 5K as a fundraiser for the organization, and she spent her last months organizing it while fighting bone and liver cancer.

The first Emily’s Fight — Donate Life event was held just days after Markert’s funeral in August 2014. Over the last nine years, the event has raised more than $150,000 for the Iowa Donor Network in Emily Markert’s name. This year’s event will be the last, Liz Markert said.

Saturday’s “last hurrah” won’t be the end of the journey for Liz Markert — she plans to spend the next three to five years traveling to all 99 counties in Iowa to visit DMV offices, promoting awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation.

According to the Iowa Donor Network, there are about 600 Iowans waiting for a life-saving transplant. Nationwide, there are about 114,000 people waiting.

To participate:

What: Emily’s Fight — Donate life 5K run/walk

When: Aug. 5. Registration starts at 7:15 a.m., run/walk starts at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $25 and includes a T-shirt.

Where: Floral Hall on Main Street, Manson

To register or make a donation: Go to getmeregistered.com/emilymarkerts5k