After nearly a year of waiting, Lyndsay Richholt finally received the news in November 2025 that she and her loved ones had long been waiting for.
The 42-year-old Kelowna mom had been scheduled for a life-saving liver transplant surgery on Dec. 10, the remedy to her deteriorating health caused by her battle with Autoimmune Hepatitis.
After travelling down to Vancouver in early December for surgery, Richholt was dealt yet another blow. Her donor was injured in a fall and no longer able to go through with the procedure.
Richholt was still positive in an update shared on Dec. 14, saying she had regrouped and refocused after the unfortunate news and had three other potential donors lined up.
The family spent the holidays in Vancouver with hopes that her surgery would still happen soon, but the calendar flipped from 2025 to 2026 without any positive developments.
Over the weekend, a family member shared the latest on Richholt through social media, saying the update came with “a heavy heart and boggled mind.”
“A local MLA, Lyndsay’s specialist and Lyndsay have all reached out to BC Transplant but have been left with crickets – no response, no update, no hope,” she said.
“We are being ignored. This lack of communication is abysmal, unacceptable and, quite frankly, inhumane. Her health has drastically deteriorated in the last few weeks, leaving her exhausted and losing the will to fight, and leaving her loved ones beyond worried.”
She described the feeling of sharing this update as “helpless, gut-wrenching (and) unbelievable.”
Kelowna Centre MLA Kristina Loewen has been heavily involved in the advocacy around Richholt's desperate need for a life-saving transplant in recent months.
In a new statement released today, she called out the NDP government for the lack of communication with Richholt and her family through these latest developments.
“The suffering Lyndsay is enduring is just horrific. Her family tells us she’s experiencing acute pain, swelling, cramps and nausea into the wee hours of the morning. Her husband and his mother are now caring for her day and night,” Loewen said.
“Lindsay’s live donor has now recovered from the accident. This transplant can happen now. I am sending this message to David Eby today because no matter how exhausted Lyndsay has become, I do not want her to give up.”
Loewen added that the government’s failure to communicate with Richholt and her family reflects an overall breakdown of BC’s healthcare system.
