Courageous Sister Shines Amidst Adversity – Yet Needs Prayers

Lisa Harriman is a single sister in the Northwest Region of the Boston church of Christ. A faithful servant with a busy life in the kingdom, she recently began a bout with PKD -polycystic kidney disease.

Lisa grew up in Plaistow, NH, as one of eight children, and lived in the country, surrounded by horses and nature. Her dad was a field engineer, who worked at Sanders (now Lockheed Martin) for 35 years. After her parents divorced, Lisa’s mom worked the night shift as a nurse on the medical/surgical floor of a local hospital.

After graduating from high school, Lisa moved to California to go to college. She lived with one of her sisters and studied education at the University of San Diego. In the summer of 1987 Lisa moved back to New Hampshire and resumed her studies, eventually completing her associate’s degree in early childhood education.

While she was living in California, it so happened that one of Lisa’s sister’s best friends had become a disciple. Shortly after returning to New England, he shared the gospel with Lisa and she started attending church. She was baptized in November of 1987 and immediately immersed herself in serving God. As a young disciple, Lisa and another brother (Jeff Todd, also from the northwest region) led a huge Bible talk in Haverhill, one of the northern suburbs of Boston. The group was so big that they had to meet at a local donut shop because nobody’s house was large enough to accommodate them!

Lisa has a tremendous heart to serve. In her 23 years as a disciple, she has served in Kingdom Kids at every opportunity, has been in most of the homes in the region caring for children of Christian families. She also worked as a teen leader for four years and has worked with the preteens as well. Professionally, Lisa has also been a great servant, working as a nanny for 15 years and a preschool teacher for seven years. One of her favorite jobs was working as an assistant for Wyndham and Jeanie Shaw (Wyndham serves as an elder in the Boston church).

In November of 2007, Lisa had been working as a personal trainer and

dance instructor and was the picture of health. Suddenly she came down with what she thought was the flu and in a matter of weeks, found herself in the intensive care unit fighting for her life. After a massive transfusion, Lisa was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and began in-home dialysis from 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. seven nights a week. Lisa calls into midweek and family group by cell phone, and continues to serve even though she is physically limited.

Lisa credits God with giving her the strength and the support system to deal with such a life-changing event. She has lived with Donna Demaria, another single sister in the Northwest Region, for more than ten years, and every morning Lisa takes Donna’s adopted girls to school before going to work herself. Since 2006, Lisa has worked for another one of the disciples in the Boston church, Paul Pierce, who owns a window-cleaning franchise and employs a number of the sisters in the church in his office.

From the day Lisa was diagnosed, it was obvious that God had his arms around her. The Bible talk she was in at that time included a physician’s assistant and a dialysis nurse. Not long after Lisa was diagnosed, one of the brothers in her region (E.J. Murphy) had a kidney transplant himself and has been a constant source of encouragement over the years. His mantra is, “Ask me anything. I’m an open book.” Another brother, Ron Slade, has life-threatening liver disease, and when Lisa has a bad day she is able to call Ron f

or encouragement and support.

For Lisa, dialysis is only a band-aid, not a long-term solution. Her life expectancy is estimated at seven to ten years without a kidney transplant. A transplant would allow her to resume a normal schedule, without dialysis, and would extend her life by at least 20-25 years. Although Lisa is difficult to match because of the transfusion she received during her diagnosis, potential donors do not need to be an exact match. A “swap donor” can donate a kidney to the nationwide kidney bank on Lisa’s behalf, and the doctors estimate a match can be found for her in about six months.

If it is on your heart to instead see if you can donate a kidney directly to Lisa, here are some requirements: you must have type O blood (either positive or negative). You cannot have high blood pressure, cancer (or have had cancer) or diabetes or be obese. There are also certain medications that could restrict you. If you would like to make an anonymous inquiry, you can email kidney4lisa@gmail.com, which is monitored by one of Lisa’s friends who is also a disciple. If you wish to contact Lisa directly, you can email her at lisaatfish@aol.com. She would love to hear from you!

Lisa Harriman shines as a great example of a disciple persevering through hardship. Her social worker is amazed at how “low maintenance” Lisa is and wants her to share at the next PKD convention. Her friends and co-workers continue to be inspired by her positive spirit and her steadfast faith in God. She has accepted her condition and is able to see God’s grace in everything that has happened and will happen. Truly Lisa is a hero in the faith, and we look forward to seeing how God will continue to use her in the coming months and years.