Grand Rapids couple ready to open Transplant House

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — While giving 13 ON YOUR SIDE a tour of the Transplant House of West Michigan, co-founder Tracy Gary paused for a moment to take it all in. feeling the magnitude of what he and his wife Holly had created together.

“I can tell you now, every time I’m here I’m running around and I’ve never really sat here and just looked at it. Very serious. This is the first time,” he said.

For Tracy and Holly, getting to this moment has been a long road. 13 ON YOUR SIDE first told you in February 2022 how their respective transplant journeys brought them closer together. They told us how the COVID-19 pandemic halted their efforts to create the Transplant House – an effort they called a “pipe dream” at the time. But now that dream has come true.

“We’re trying to have a comforting home away from home, where you feel comfortable. You can be with other people who are going through the same thing, or you can be alone in your own room,” Holly said .

The Transplant House, located near the corner of Leonard and Fuller streets, will be a place where family members of out-of-town transplant patients can stay when they come to Grand Rapids for treatment on the Medical Mile. Some will come hours from here. Some will come from different states. Either way, the Transplant House will be a much cheaper accommodation option than the typical alternative.

“Hotels will just put you out of business. Not the hotels themselves – it’s how long you have to stay there. I mean, it’s crazy,” Tracy said.

Some families may not pay for their stay at all, thanks to the home’s Pay It Forward fund, which allows donors to pay for someone else’s stay.

Tracy, who received a heart transplant, and Holly, who received a liver transplant, know how valuable something like the Transplant House would have been to their families during their treatments.

“My family would have loved it. We’re only two miles from the hospital. Five minutes. Across the street we have Fuller Plaza. There’s a grocery store, pizza place, Chinese restaurant, donut places “Then we have McDonald’s, Arby’s, a CVS is right next to us. Everything they need is here. You can walk down the sidewalk to Vitale’s, it’s a good neighborhood.” Tracy said.

The Transplant House is full of names of those who helped build the house or those who gave the gift of life.

“We have a wall of heroes there when you first come in. Anyone who is a donor, their name will be on there. A little sign will be on there with their name,” Tracy said.

Holly, who celebrates the 18th anniversary of her transplant on Friday, says she appreciates everyone who has donated and volunteered, and especially the donors and their families.

“We wouldn’t be here without our donors and our donor families. This house is for them. It’s in memory of them, and to help other people who are going through the same thing, and to give back. All we do “What we want is to help,” she said.

If you would like to see the Transplant House of West Michigan for yourself, they will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Saturday, June 29 from noon to 6 p.m. and beginning on Sunday, June 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There will also be a fundraiser on June 22 at Sobie Meats. There will be patriotic artwork and a homemade hatchet for a raffle. The profits will be donated to the Transplant House.

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