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Grand Rapids couple ready to open Transplant House after years of hard work

Tracy Gary and Holly Werlein-Gary are both organ transplant recipients. Their dream to help transplant patients and their families is finally coming true.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As he was giving a tour of the Transplant House of West Michigan to 13 ON YOUR SIDE, co-founder Tracy Gary stopped for a moment to take it all in. It was the first time he had a chance to actually feel the magnitude of what he and his wife Holly had created together.

"I can tell you right now, every time I'm here I'm running around and I've never really sat here and just looked at it. Dead 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 about how their respective transplant journeys brought them together. They told us how the COVID-19 pandemic had halted their efforts to create the Transplant House - an effort that 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 comfort. You can be with others going through the same thing, or you can be by yourself in your own room," Holly said.

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

"Hotels will just bankrupt you. Not the hotels themselves - it's the length of time you have to stay there. I mean, it's crazy," Tracy said.

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

Tracy, who is a heart transplant recipient, and Holly, who is a liver transplant recipient, know first-hand just how valuable something like the Transplant House would have been to their families when they were going through their treatments.

"My family would have loved this. We're only two miles from the hospital. Five minutes. Across the street, we have Fuller Plaza. That's got a grocery store, a pizza place, a Chinese place, donuts. Then we've got McDonald's, Arby's, a CVS is right next to us. Everything they need is right here. You can walk down the sidewalk to Vitale's. It's a good area," Tracy said.

The Transplant House is full of names of those who have helped the home be built, or those who have given the gift of life.

"We've got a Hero Wall out there when you first walk in. Anybody that's a donor, their name will go on there. A little placard will go on there with their name on it," Tracy said.

Holly, who is celebrating the 18th anniversary of her transplant on Friday, says she's appreciative of everyone who has donated and volunteered, and especially 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 going through the same thing, and to give back. All we want to do is help," she said.

If you'd like to see the Transplant House of West Michigan for yourself, they'll be hosting a ribbon cutting and open house on Saturday, June 29 from noon to 6 p.m., and from 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 up for raffle. The proceeds will go toward the Transplant House.

To learn how you can be an organ donor, visit the Michigan Secretary of State's website.

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