Liz Burch is not one to let difficult circumstances hold her back. When she encounters a problem, she actively seeks a solution. In her first encounter with the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK), she faced a roadblock with her credentials but chose to overcome it.
Liz connected with CHC/SEK in 2019 after the Caney School District lost its school-based therapist. Although the role traditionally required a social worker, Liz, an LMLP, was encouraged by the school principal to apply.
She met with CHC and told them that if going back to school to get her LSCSW would help her better serve her community, she’d do it. Liz joined CHC/SEK in October 2019, and five months later, the pandemic hit. The pandemic also put her graduate school plans on hold.
“I learned quickly how to do virtual therapy, see all my kids, and keep that open. I think I was quarantined 43 times. It was a ride. We rode out together.”
But Liz isn’t one to leave anything half-done. As life stabilized, she enrolled at Fort Hayes State University.
A Bold Decision, A Life Saved
Then, in 2023, her world turned upside down. Her husband lost his job, and her mother was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis that had progressed to level 4 cirrhosis. The survival rates were low. KU Medical Center had limited transplant options. The waiting list stretched for five years.
“We cried for a day. Then I said, ‘No. We have to do something else.'”
Liz began searching for living donor units and called and emailed the University Health System in San Antonio until they said yes. She volunteered to be her mother’s donor.
“I could either watch my mom die, or I could do something hard for a year, and I could donate, and give her 10 or 20 more years.”
In August 2023, she went through rigorous testing. On March 21, 2024, Liz donated her right lobe of her liver (69% of her liver) to her mother in a seven-and-a-half-hour surgery. Liz’s liver had a rare anatomy: two bile ducts in, two out. Her mother’s anatomy didn’t match. A specialized liver transplant surgeon was called in, someone who focuses solely on bile duct reconstruction.
Still, the transplant was successful, and her mother is thriving.
“We hit the one-year mark this March. That’s the line where her long-term survival odds jump. I finally stopped holding my breath.”
Liz’s health has improved, too. She says her lab results are better now than ever, and so is her quality of life. She now mentors families navigating the living donor process. “We are not going to be a medical desert anymore. We are going to get people connected. Even if I’m just the voice on the other end of a phone call.”
Liz says most of this was possible because of the support she received at CHC/SEK. Many people are not able to be living donors because of work and financial constraints. She qualified for the PTO Bank which helped supplement her PTO for time away from work.
“CHC/SEK has matched my unwavering dream of changing the world every step of the way,” she said. “From my favorite Ashleys, Hooper and Neely, to Sarah Berry answering every question, to Jason and Krista’s never-ending support of school-based services and all of my wild requests over the years. I work for one of the best places on earth. When you find a place that matches your energy and dreams of change, nothing is better.”
Big Goals, Bigger Impact
Through the donation process, she stayed in school and maintained a 4.0 GPA, and she’s being recognized for her work. This spring, she was nominated for the Lighthouse Award presented to the top graduate student for the university out of 3,000 graduate students. She landed in the top three of the finalists. She also received the Most Outstanding Graduate Student Award from the Social Work Department.
“It’s exciting,” she said. “It’s truly a testament to the fact that I was asked to do something and didn’t just check the box. I did the absolute best I could because that’s what I want to be like. I want to be the best.”
She’s also tackling local challenges. Caney has been dealing with lead, contaminated water, and poor infrastructure. Liz says she didn’t feel like her clients were being represented well, so she ran for City Council and won. But her drive doesn’t stop there.
“I’m going to get my son Maxwell, who’s almost 12, to college, then I’ll either run for the House of Representatives or become a lobbyist. We need change. And I’m not done.”