Their journey started more than three years ago — and hundreds of miles apart — when a string of circumstances led to Hovey donating part of her liver so that Hernandez could have a second chance at life.

Now, the unlikely pair are sharing their story with others in a children’s book they wrote together called “Walk With Me.”

“Walk With Me,” which was recently released on Amazon, is intended to offer faith-based comfort to children facing life-saving transplant surgeries like the one Hernandez went through.

“This book comforts children, lets them know what to expect ahead of time,” Hovey said from the pre-op room to the ICU. “It tells them what they’re going to see — all while introducing them to who Jesus is.”

-Submitted photo
“Walk With Me,” which was recently released on Amazon, is intended to offer faith-based comfort to children facing life-saving transplant surgeries.

The Fort Dodge woman will be on hand for a special book signing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Faith Works in Fort Dodge, along with Judy Wilson, the woman who sparked her interest in organ donation.

The book describes everything from the inflatable hoses that nurses put on a child’s legs “that inflate and deflate kind of like a balloon” to prevent blood clots, to the “sleepy air” (anesthesia) given so they will sleep through surgery. The book shares that Jesus’ love covers the patient much like the big warm blankets nurses cover them with while in the hospital.

The book also lets children know it’s normal to feel afraid when facing surgery, and that it’s OK to bring a favorite toy with them into the operating room.

Illustrations for the book were done by Marina Ruppel, Hovey’s stepdaughter. Little sheep are hidden on different pages throughout the book.

“We want to be able to give this book for free to any pediatric patient across the nation going through any type of organ transplant,” Hovey said.

-Submitted photo
Isaac Hernandez, a liver recipient from Austin, Texas, walks alongside living liver donor Kristen Hovey, left, in the days after the pair's transplant surgeries in April 2022.

A true story

Hovey first learned about living liver transplants through Wilson, a friend and co-worker whose brother needed a living liver donor. Wilson had already lost her son Josh, who died of cancer at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha. Wilson had learned living liver transplants are done at Nebraska Medicine because of the time she spent there with her son.

So Hovey began looking into the process to be a living liver donor, and applied at Nebraska Medicine.

“I wanted to do this to keep (Josh’s) memory alive,” she said.

Though Wilson’s brother received a transplant from a deceased donor, Hovey continued her quest for information and eventually came across living donor groups online.

“That’s when I saw Isaac’s mom with her ad (asking for a living liver donor) for her son,” she said.

Drawn to the plea, Hovey reached out and asked his mom, Christine Villarreal, to call her. She soon learned that the family was located in Texas, where Hovey’s only sibling — a brother — also lives. She also learned that Isaac came from a very large family — none of whom were a match.

After flying down and undergoing a week of testing, the results were positive.

“A stranger from Iowa was a perfect match,” Hovey said.

The transplant operation took place on April 12, 2022. Hovey donated 66 percent of her liver, which surgeons used to replace Hernandez’s diseased liver. This is possible because the liver regenerates.

The operations — which lasted 8 hours for Hovey and 12 hours for Hernandez — were a success.

Hovey’s favorite photo is of the two of them walking down the hallway in their hospital gowns after the surgery.

“I love it so much because he’s walking tall, and I’m using a walker,” she said.

“What you don’t realize is, he’s on death’s door before this. He’s sleepy; his eyes are yellow,” Hovey said. “I go in really, really healthy, and then I come out with 34 percent of my liver. So it’s like you trade places.”

One year later, the donor and recipient met for their “liver-versary” and have continued to stay in touch.

A larger purpose

For many, this would be the end of the story — but not for Hovey and Hernandez.

First, the pair worked together to create the nonprofit, Lil’ Lambs of Jesus. Hovey said the nonprofit’s purpose is twofold — to increase awareness about organ donation as well as increase the number of living liver donors.

Next came the children’s book, “Walk With Me.”

“When I first got home, I started writing things out,” said Hovey. “Then I would interview Isaac over the phone, or we’d text and I’d say, ‘Hey, what did you notice?'”

The book incorporates Hernandez’s feelings both before and after the surgery.

“Right before the transplant, being 22, he was scared,” she said. “I know it started to become real for him because he had to go in for blood work.”

But afterward, he experienced a whole new world.

“Isaac would say, ‘I can enjoy the little things now,'” Hovey said. “Before, he was taking naps all the time.”

But now he could enjoy everyday things like others his age.

“‘I can drive around; I can go fishing,'” he told Hovey. “It’s the simplest things that meant the world to him that he wasn’t able to do before.”

One of Hovey’s transplant nurses, Gail, also gets a special mention in the book because of the care she gave.

“Walk With Me” is dedicated to Josh Wilson, which is where the process of organ donation started for Hovey.

“Through one mother’s (Judy Wilson’s) grief and spreading awareness, another mother (Christine Villarreal) was given hope,” Hovey said.

The book is also dedicated to her father, Hernandez’s great-grandparents, and Ruppel’s grandparents — all of whom have passed away in the last two years since the writing process began.

“It’s been a real labor of love,” Hovey said.

“Walk With Me” is available at Faith Works, on Amazon and on their nonprofit’s website, lillambsofjesus.org.

“But you will only get signed copies at Faith Works,” Hovey said.

All profits from the book sales go to their nonprofit, Lil’ Lambs of Jesus. People can also sponsor a book by donating a one-time gift of $10, or by giving $10 a month to support the nonprofit’s effort to get the books into the hands of pediatric patients for free.

“We don’t want to just limit this to living liver (transplant patients),” Hovey said, “because this book can walk them through and comfort them.”

She said local hospital staff have told her this book could also be valuable for children going through other types of surgeries, even tonsillectomies.

Lil’ Lambs of Jesus

While the book is out, Hovey and Hernandez still have more work to do. They would also like to make the process of finding living liver donors easier for those who need a donor.

“There is no national registry for living liver donors, but there is for deceased donors,” Hovey said.

In addition, she said, while approximately 100 to 150 hospitals nationwide perform deceased liver transplants, only 60 to 70 of those hospitals do living donor surgeries.

Hovey envisions a map on their nonprofit’s website that would show the U.S. hospitals that perform the procedure and, with one click, someone could go to that hospital’s site to begin the process of filling out a living liver donor application to see if they are eligible.

“I don’t know what that looks like, but God already knows,” she said. “We want to raise awareness about the need for living liver donors.”

This is important, Hovey said, because even though the liver regenerates, a person can only donate part of their liver once.

She said they would also like to use their website to help others navigate the best way to use social media to find a living liver donor.

“You don’t want to just put your phone number out there,” Hovey said, “because there are scammers.”

Instead, she said, the website might include a sample ad, telling people what to include, such as the blood type needed.

“It’s all about raising awareness and seeing where God takes it,” Hovey said. “It’s a tiny idea that’s turned into something much bigger.”

But Hovey and Hernandez are up for the journey.

“I just walk through the doors that God completely opened,” Hovey said. “You have to be willing to walk through those doors.”

If you go

What: “Walk With Me” book signing with Kristen Hovey

When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13

Where: Faith Works, 8 S. 12th St., Fort Dodge