Carissa Fisher, a preschool teacher, went above and beyond for one of her former students. Per PEOPLE, 5-year-old Ezra Toczek had been fighting end-stage liver disease. Toczek was born with liver damage, and he'd had health issues ever since. In May of 2024, Fisher heard about Toczek's terrifying diagnosis and decided to do something about it.
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Fisher checked to see if she could be a living donor to Toczek. When she received the confirmation, she chose to donate a portion of her liver to her former student. Fisher's procedure was quick. Toczek, unfortunately, needed four surgeries and spent 45 days in PICU. He remained at the facility for several weeks, recovering.
Karen Thorpe Toczek, Ezra's mother, told PEOPLE that he "had a few post-op complications that kept him in the hospital longer than originally expected, but his new liver doing really well!" Ezra slowly started gaining his strength back. "[Ezra has] been through a lot, and at times [Karen] can see the toll it's taken mentally, but overall, he's in really good spirits."
A Preschool Teacher Donates Her Liver To Save One Of Her Former Students
"We have an amazing village of support rallying around us through this," Karen stated. As for Fisher, Karen confirmed that Fisher visited Ezra "a couple of times while she was still recovering in the hospital, and she visited a few more times while she was still in the city for follow-up care." Fisher dealt with more pain than she'd anticipated, followed by fatigue. However, she, too, made a full recovery!
"The doctors said my liver should be regrowing now and I have a check up/MRI scheduled in November in NYC to see how far it's regrown and to make sure everything looks good!" Fisher told the outlet. "I'm happy to be home seeing my friends and family!"
Karen posted encouraging updates to the GoFundMe page she created for Ezra! "While we can't wait to get home, we are grateful for the absolutely AMAZING team caring for our boy, and we're blessed to be able to stay close during this time. We understand how necessary it is for his providers to have him here for right now. We are so grateful for your continued support! God bless!"
