Letters of Hope Episodes

Episode Titles

To watch the entire series consecutively, please visit: Letters Of Hope | Full Run Of Series

Episode 1: Receiving a diagnosis

Finding out you need a transplant can be scary and overwhelming. In this opening segment, Valen shares the emotions felt when receiving a diagnosis and ways to cope while processing the news. While this time period in the journey can be filled with many unknowns, Valen shares how impactful it has been to find a community of support, the importance of holding on to hope, and the good that can surprise us along the way

Episode 2: Finding your voice

After receiving a diagnosis, finding your voice can be an important tool to help you navigate your path to and through transplantation. In episode two, Valen and her mom share her journey from growing up with no voice, to discovering her voice post-transplant, and how helpful it has been. Valen discusses the varying ways we can find our voice and the choice we have to take our challenging times and turn them into something meaningful and beautiful.

Episode 3: Advocating for Yourself

Your voice is a powerful tool that can help you advocate for yourself. In episode three, Valen shares how advocating for yourself is speaking up, knowing your body, explaining how you feel, and expressing the importance of certain care that you need. She gives advice to help you advocate for yourself and examples of how advocating and following her intuition positively impacted her journey, reminding us that we know our bodies and our health better than anyone.

Episode 4: Transplant Evaluation

Transplant evaluation can be a couple day endeavor filled with appointments and testing to determine if you're sick enough to need a transplant and well enough to be able to endure the surgery. In episode four, Valen’s husband and caregiver, Noah, joins her as they share how they had to relocate out of state for transplant and empathize with how difficult this stage can be, where it can feel like a lot is out of your control. From both the patient and caregiver perspective, they provide guidance and ways to help you stay grounded during this vital step towards receiving your transplant.

Episode 5: The Crucial Care Partner

The patient and caregiver partnership is crucial in the transplant journey. In episode five, Valen and her husband and caregiver, Noah, join together for a heartfelt and open discussion on the important role of a care partner. Valen expresses the impact Noah’s support and unconditional love has had on her and that it's important for patients to support their caregiver as well. She shares how it is hard as a patient to navigate being sick and receiving support without feeling like a burden or having guilt associated with it. Noah guides you through the responsibilities of a care partner and provides advice on how to advocate for your loved one to make sure they are getting the care they need. And most importantly, shares that you can't care for somebody if you're not at least caring a little bit for yourself.

Episode 6: The Transplant Waitlist

When you’re in need of a lifesaving organ transplant, the waitlist is something many have to navigate. Some people can sit on the list and wait in limbo for a week to several years. In episode six, Valen shares what it felt like physically as well as the emotional journey of waiting for her liver transplant, wondering if she would survive and make it to receive “the call.” Valen discusses survivor’s guilt and ways her and her husband tried to find joy and hope during this uncertain time.

Episode 7: Transplant Surgery

Receiving “the call” and transplant surgery are monumental events in a transplant recipient’s journey. In episode seven, Valen and Noah share the rush of emotions they experienced when receiving the call, followed by the moments leading up to Valen's transplant surgery, and what post-transplant recovery was like. It is powerful to hear both the patient and caregiver perspectives of transplant surgery. Noah provides valuable advice and Valen reminds you that you’ll experience transformations, physically and mentally, after the surgery and to know that time will heal.

Episode 8: Living Immunosuppressed

When you become a transplant recipient, you are beginning a lifelong journey of being immunosuppressed. In episode eight, Valen shares her medicine regimen and discusses the realities, side effects, and responsibilities of living immunosuppressed. As you head into transplant, it can feel overwhelming to navigate your new medicine routine. However, anti-rejection medicine is vital and Valen shows that it doesn’t limit your quality of life in the sense of travel. Valen looks at it as an opportunity she has to take the best care of herself and show her gratitude for the second chance and gift of life she’s been given.

Episode 9: Dating, Relationships, and Family Planning

When you find out that something is going to impact your life like transplantation, a plethora of questions flood your mind. In episode nine, Valen and Noah discuss the thoughts and questions surrounding dating, relationships, and family planning that naturally arise when we find out we need a transplant. They share how they met and the importance of honest and open conversations, which have been an integral part of their relationship from day one. Valen encourages us to strive to seek the life we really want to lead in regard to having children and finding a partner. As hard as it may be to talk about what we are going through in our relationships, being open and honest can lead to something beautiful. And even if it doesn’t at that very moment, you’re giving yourself the opportunity to hopefully get to that point of being with somebody you’re supposed to be with.

Episode 10: Health Hiccups

On your transplant journey, challenges can arise that are related to your transplant or other health issues entirely. In episode 10, Valen shares health hiccups she's endured and provides advice on how to navigate and cope with these inevitable little blips that will happen along our journey. Her wish for you is that you're able to stay close to the people who provide you support and happiness and find things that bring you joy through health hiccups that you may endure, because most of them do pass.

Episode 11: Mental Health

One thing the transplant community has in common is their scars. But the scars that aren’t talked about enough are the scars on the inside, the ones we can't see. In episode 11, Valen helps shine a light on the importance of mental health and the need for additional support for recipients and their care system throughout the entire transplant process. She shares ways to cope on your own and how impactful it is to connect with others in the community. Valen expresses how mental health resources would really make a difference in how one is able to navigate the transplant journey and the quality of life that one could live post-transplant.

Episode 12: The Transformative Journey of Transplantation

In episode 12, the final segment of Letters of Hope, Valen honors organ donors and shares the ripple effect of good that has come from her two transplants. She highlights the power of living donation and the importance of signing up to be an organ donor. Valen demonstrates how transformative transplantation is, what she’s learned along the way, and her hope for sharing her stories. Her wish is that after hearing her Letters of Hope, you will be encouraged to write your own.