On April 12, 2022, Hovey underwent a major surgery in a San Antonio, Texas, hospital to give 66 percent of her liver to Isaac Hernandez, a complete stranger from Austin, Texas. On first glance, the Fort Dodge mother giving more than half her liver to a teenage boy across the country might seem like the start of the story. It isn’t.

Hovey and Hernandez’s story actually begins 25 years ago, even before Hernandez was born.

Working as a parole/probation officer in Fort Dodge, Hovey met Judy Wilson, another parole/probation officer. The two grew close over the years working together, even more so when Wilson’s son, Josh, fell ill and was admitted to Nebraska Medicine Medical Center in Omaha. Josh was 21 when he lost his battle to cancer at Nebraska Medicine.

Shortly after, while at Bible study together, Wilson told Hovey that her brother was in need of a new liver and was seeking a living liver donor.

-Submitted photo
Kristen Hovey, of Fort Dodge, donated part of her liver to save the life of a complete stranger, Isaac Hernandez, of Austin, Texas.

“They don’t do those transplants here in Iowa,” Hovey said of the living liver donor procedure. “It takes two specialized teams — one for the living donor and one for the recipient.”

The waiting list to receive an organ from a deceased donor can be hundreds or even thousands of names long, she said.

“Sometimes your best bet is to find a living donor,” Hovey said.

Because of the time Wilson spent at Nebraska Medicine, she knew that they were one of the few medical centers in the region that do living liver donor transplants. While Wilson’s brother eventually was able to receive a liver from a deceased donor, Hovey still felt called to sign up to be a donor for someone else.

“I applied at Nebraska Medicine,” she said. “Because there is no national registry for living liver donors.”

-Submitted photo
Kristen Hovey, of Fort Dodge, embraces Isaac Hernandez, of Austin, Texas, when the two met on April 11, 2022. The next day, Hovey, a living liver donor, donated 66% of her liver to Hernandez, whose own liver was diseased and failing.

That was in 2020 and was “God moment” No. 1.

“God moment” No. 2 came several months later. Hovey hadn’t heard from Nebraska Medicine yet, and she had a lot of questions about living donations and how she could help, but didn’t know where to turn. While scrolling on Facebook one day, she found a comment on a friend’s post from a person who said he received a liver from a living donor.

Hovey reached out to that person and he directed her to numerous websites and Facebook pages of people looking for living donors for their loved ones.

“That’s where I saw Isaac’s mom pleading for anyone to come forward,” she said. “Isaac was 18 and started throwing up blood. He had an autoimmune disorder that attacked his liver.”

Hovey reached out to Hernandez’s mom, Christine Villarreal, to see what she needed to do to be tested to see if she was a match for Hernandez.

-Image courtesy of Marina Ruppel
One of the illustrations in Kristen Hovey and Isaac Hernandez's book features the two as part of a puzzle.

To find out, Hovey would have to travel to San Antonio, Texas, to University Hospital in order to undergo testing.

“Another God moment,” Hovey said. “My one and only sibling lives in San Antonio.”

So she went down and stayed with her brother for a week while going through testing to find out if she can help this teenage boy she’d never met before.

“Isaac comes from a huge family and they all tested to see if they could be a living donor — none of them could,” Hovey said. “A perfect stranger from Iowa was a perfect match.”

Another “God moment.”

-Image courtesy of Marina Ruppel
Kirsten Hovey and Isaac Hernandez aim to comfort kids going through liver transplants and introducing them to Jesus Christ in the book they've written together.

On April 11, 2022, Hovey and Hernandez met for the first time as they went into the hospital to get some final bloodwork done before the transplant. The next day, Hovey spent eight hours in surgery while specialists harvested 66 percent of her liver. Hernandez’s surgery took longer, about 12 hours, because his surgeons had to remove his diseased liver before transplanting Hovey’s.

Hovey said the hospital staff and nurses, especially a nurse named Gail, took phenomenal care of her before the surgery and during recovery.

“Gail was an absolute angel, she made me feel not alone,” Hovey said. “She explained every procedure, what they were going to do next. She was amazing.”

Hovey spent about five days in the hospital recovering from the donation, eventually going home on Easter Sunday. She returned to Fort Dodge and went back to her life.

But in the back of her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about the ordeal Villarreal went through trying to find a donor to save her son’s life. Hovey stayed in touch with Villarreal and Hernandez — even visiting in April 2023 for their “liver-versary.”

Eventually, they all decided that together they wanted to find a way to help. Hovey and Hernandez teamed up to write a children’s book from their experience — a book they want to place into the hands of pediatric liver transplant patients to comfort them with Jesus Christ and knowledge of what to expect with the surgery.

“What makes our book so special is it’s through the eyes of a living liver donor and the recipient,” she said.

The book also includes practical tips for recovery from Hovey and Hernandez for parents and donors.

Another “God moment” was when Hovey’s stepdaughter, Marina Ruppel, a graphic designer, joined the project to illustrate the book.

The next “God moment” came when Hovey was trying to figure out how to publish the book once it’s completed. While at her stepson’s wedding, she met his pastor, who had just published two books, and now he’s her publisher.

To help support this endeavor and raise awareness of living liver donation, Hovey and Hernandez established Lil’ Lambs of Jesus, a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

“We want to be able to give these books to the children and their families for free,” Hovey said. “We also want these books to be placed in doctors offices.”

As a registered nonprofit, Lil’ Lambs of Jesus can collect monetary donations to support its cause. Information on the organization and donation can be found at lillambsofjesus.org.

“We’re hoping with this nonprofit that it’s going to introduce children and their families to how awesome God is, because when you follow our journey, you can see God’s hand everywhere,” Hovey said.

Hovey also does public speaking engagements to share information about the organization and living liver donation.

While Hovey’s liver has regenerated to its original size, this experience is something she’ll carry with her for the rest of her life.

“I swear, as a living donor, I’ve gained more than Isaac has,” Hovey said.

Inspired by the nurses — like Nurse Gail — that took care of her and the ones that cared for her father when he was terminally ill last year, Hovey decided to go back to school to become a nurse at age 52.

Hovey remains close with Hernandez and Villarreal. When Hovey’s father died in August, his obituary listed Hernandez as a “grandson.”

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