A Gift of Life

The Austin Daily Herald | Sarah Stultz
Former Albert Lea resident Mary Brackey, left, sits with her mother, Evelyn, during a recent visit to Albert Lea after Thanksgiving. Mary was the recipient of a live liver transplant in 2010 and has been featured on a documentary "Transplant: A Gift for Life." â€" Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
Former A.L. resident featured in PBS documentary after live liver transplant

How do you say thank you for the ultimate gift of life?

That’s the question former Albert Lean Mary Brackey asks herself each September as she carries on her life healthy and thriving.

Brackey, who graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1980, was the recipient of a live liver transplant on Sept. 29, 2010. Less than a year before, doctors had diagnosed her with primary biliary cirrhosis of the liver and told her she had a year to live.

“It’s one of those situations where you just know it’s a life-changer,” she said. “The way I look at things now is different.”

Brackey, who lives with her partner Karen Haakonson, in Crystal, a suburb of Minneapolis, is one of several organ donors and recipients profiled in “Transplant: A Gift for Life,” a PBS documentary co-produced by filmmaker Dennis Mahoney and TPT National Productions.
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