Above, Jannie Parker spends time with her grandchildren Jeffrey, Lexi, Carole, Drew and Josh. At left, Parker and Drew share a lightsaber. The 67-year-old Brownsboro woman will likely need a dual organ transplant to save her life. It's likely that Jannie Parker is going to need a dual organ transplant to save her life, but it will be at least another two months before doctors even determine whether she'll be placed on a recipients list.

And for Parker and her family, two months is long enough.

"She is susceptible to other illnesses, and she recently had Gout, which is really rare in women," daughter-inlaw Sherry Parker said. "She's at risk for blood infections and is steadily getting weaker and weaker. It's amazing how quickly your body can deteriorate once your liver starts failing."

In February, relatives noticed Jannie Parker, 67, struggling with her speech, and other symptoms. They took her to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with nonalcoholic cirrhosis of the liver.

Courtesy Photos "She's always been on high bloodpressure medicine, and it has put a strain on her kidneys," Sherry Parker said. "Now, we're looking at a possible liver transplant. She's at high risk for Hepatitis, and she's obese. She's also been retaining fluid in her abdomen."

Cirrhosis replaces healthy liver tissue with scar tissue, eventually preventing the organ from functioning properly. It blocks the flow of blood through the liver and slows the processing of nutrients, hormones, and drugs, as well as the production of proteins.

Cirrhosis is the 12th leading cause of death by disease, according to the National Institutes of Health.

"She has been tested from head to toe," Sherry Parker said. "She's had to have a psychiatric evaluation, also. We're waiting on a committee of doctors to make a decision, but there's no guarantee. She might wait a year before she even gets a liver."

S. Parker Meanwhile, Jannie Parker must continue to lose weight as ordered by her doctors and is maintaining a "strict" no-salt diet.

She's required to submit blood samples for weeky tests, and doctors have indicated they want to do a kidney biopsy before she is possibly placed on a recipients list.

"Her kidneys are only functioning at 22 percent," Sherry Parker said. "We'll have to wait until February to find out what the doctors want to do. She still needs to get down to her goal weight of 195 pounds."

Failing kidneys cannot properly process waste, electrolytes, and fluids, and they accumulate in the body - an often deadly scenario.

Common causes of kidney failure include decreased blood flow to the organs, infections, liver disease, and heart failure.

Dan and Jannie Parker Cirrhosis of the liver is often caused by Hepatitis C, alcohol abuse, and adverse reactions to prescription drugs. A fatty liver is usually associated with obesity and diabetes. Liver disease can further lead to mental changes, kidney failure, changes in blood count, excessive bleeding, and loss of muscle mass.

Jannie Parker, her daughter in-law said, is taking 17 medications while waiting for a possible dual transplant. Although she's on Medicare and has received help from Copeland's Chandler Drug and others, the cost of medicine has quickly become prohibitive.

"I can't even begin to estimate how much they've spent. And they don't have any savings; it's all gone. Some of those pills cost $800 a month."

Jannie Parker, a 19-year librarian for the Brownsboro Independent School District, and her husband, Dan, are retired. He has diabetes.

"Between the two of them, it is very financially strapping," Sherry Parker said. "The drug companies have been helping, and people have been stopping by and paying on (the Parkers) account at Copeland Drug."

But a transplant is expected to cost more than $100,000. Anti-rejection pills would cost between $1,200 and $1,500 a month in addition to Jannie Parker's other medication.

Her church, Rock Hill Baptist, is planning events to help raise money for the couple. But they need more than just cash, Sherry Parker said.

"You can be on a liver transplant list for years, and then they put you on a points system. My fear is that it won't be soon enough to get a transplant after she's put on a list."

"Jannie Parker has ministered to so many at Rock Hill and in the community," Pastor Tommy Weems said. "It's really gratifying to see her church family and community responding back in her health-care crisis. Really, it's not surprising. The Brownsboro and Chandler communities are the most compassionate I've ever lived in."

Begining to cry, Sherry Parker talked about her mother-in-law's faith and the need for people to know exactly what's happening with the woman she said has taken care of others for so long.

"As much as we've been talking about it in our church community, a lot of people don't know she is sick. We need help. I think you go through stages when you're dealing with someone who used to be your rock and now the tables have turned. Emotionally and mentally, it's very straining on us."

Sherry Parker said she has to plan her days so her mother-in-law will always know where she is, and that Jannie Parker spends her days at home primarily in bed.

"I love Jannie," friend Anna Mae Williams said. "She's like a sister to me. She's always been such a wonderful, generous person, and this illness is so tragic. At this time, she really does need the community's help and support."

Most of her treatment is done at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. She also is treated by a liver specialist in Tyler, a kidney specialist in Tyler, a cardiologist in Dallas, and a family physician in Chandler.

Her six-month wait on a determination for placement on a recipients list began in August.

The family said donations can be made at First State Bank in Brownsboro to the Jannnie Parker Special Fund.