PHOENIX — According to Donate Life, more than 60% of Arizonans have signed up to be an organ donor, but the need is growing, with more than 103,000 people on the national transplant list, 1,400 of those in Arizona.

A Valley wife and mother of two is sharing her story during National Donate Life Month in the hopes that it saves others through the ultimate gift.

On April 22, Jessi Trego bounced between units at Banner University Medical Center, asking staff to sign her liver pillow, passing out cookies, and showing off her nails painted in appreciation for the men and women who cared for her.

"I feel like they're my family and like they really are," Trego said. "It is full circle, because I was here when I was so incredibly sick, and now I just I feel a million times better.”

In September, she went from a healthy mother and wife vacationing with her family to nearly being incapacitated overnight.

"My arms go numb, and then my legs go numb, and I'm like, something is going on," Trego said.

After multiple emergency room visits, doctors said she has Multiple Sclerosis.

Over the course of months, she experienced even more odd symptoms.

In January, she ended up admitted to Banner with end-stage liver failure, not connected to her MS, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Basically, it can happen to literally anyone. I never thought that it would be me, and nobody does," Trego said.

Her doctors discovered autoimmune hepatitis; her liver had shrunk to 25% of its normal size with a small cancer mass developing. At that point, she was failing fast.

"She got transferred to the ICU. She got put on dialysis. It was a very, very hectic and stressful moment," said Dr. Moises Nevah, Director of Banner Hepatology and Liver Transplant Program.

Trego’s brain swelled, leading her to forget her name, the names of her children, and the year.

Then came hope in the form of a liver donation match and an emergency transplant.

“I said, 'Where am I and what am I doing?' You know? And they told me I had a transplant, and I could not believe it," Trego said.

Her medical team said her turnaround in just three months has been remarkable.

"Now I just feel a million times better," Trego said.

Trego wants to thank the surviving family of her donor.

"They gave me my life. They gave my kids their mom. So it’s things like that that like they get me," Trego said.

Trego is now sharing her story in the hopes that thousands more people like her are given a second chance through the generosity of others.

"You check the box on your driver's license, and you don't think anything of it. But I'm in Facebook support groups for transplant, and there are thousands of people waiting for kidneys, livers, lungs, hearts, all of it," Trego said.

Nevah said the need for organ donors continues to grow.

"End-stage heart disease, end-stage renal disease, end-stage liver disease are on the rise in the United States, and we are making strides to help people out with transplantation," Nevah said.

People can learn more about how to register to be a donor online here.

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