Mayo — The ReJoyce Benefit Store behind Old Florida Company Coffee House in downtown Mayo is raising funds for 62-year-old Luraville resident Mary “Joyce” Michel who is waiting for a new liver. Fundraising efforts are going well, according to Michel’s daughter Cari Hardison, who came down from Georgia in February to help take care of her mother.

So far, more than $2,000 has been raised for Michel, thanks in large part to the huge crowd that was in Mayo during Pioneer Days, as well as a generous donation of almost $400 from the Dive Outpost in Luraville, who held a benefit dinner for Michel. Hardison said the Little Bar in Live Oak will soon be holding a benefit fundraiser for her mother, as well.

Additionally, the family is having a Rifle Raffle for a 223 Ruger semi-automatic mini-14 with scope that includes four Ruger 5-round clips and a 20 -round clip. Tickets can be purchased at the ReJoyce Benefit Store, or by contacting Hardison by phone at 229-869-3403 or e-mail at carihardison03@gmail.com. The drawing will be held at the store on Fri., Nov. 9 at 3 p.m. and you need not be present to win.

Michel who is too young for Medicare benefits is receiving limited Medicaid assistance during her ordeal, so extra funding for her aftercare is desperately needed by the family.

Hardison said the family has written and mailed out thank you cards to many who have already donated, but she wished to publicly thank everyone in Mayo and the surrounding communities for their support and generous donations.

“We just want everyone to know how grateful we are,” she said. “I’m still flabbergasted as to how everyone has been so supportive.”

Hardison said her mother is doing well under the circumstances and she has been brought to tears after hearing of all the donations and support that have been coming in from all over.

Michel got a phone call last week from the Mayo Clinic that a liver was available and the family rushed her over to Jacksonville.

“They had a liver, but it didn’t go through,” Hardison said. “So, we’re waiting on the next phone call.”

Hardison said it was stressful just getting that one phone call and having to jump up in the middle of the night to head over to Jacksonville.

“When they call, you’ve got to go,” she said. “They give you maybe an hour to get out of the house and be on your way. Every night when I go to bed, I say, “that phone’s going to ring tonight.””

Hardison said they try to go to bed early because they were caught off guard with that first phone call.

“I went to bed at eleven and they called at midnight, and I’d been up since six o’clock that morning,” she said.

Hardison and her husband Charles, who was recently laid off from his job in Georgia, are staying with Michel.

“He’s a big help,” said Hardison. “He does a lot of the driving and he takes care of Mom when I can’t be there. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a labor of love. It’s Mom.”

With the number of people willing to help by donating funds, as well as offering words of encouragement, Hardison said her opinion of human nature has been drastically changed.

“It gives you a whole new attitude about people in general,” she said. “I have met the greatest people. They brought me to tears just telling their stories and what they’ve done. It’s just amazing to me. As bad as it is, I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to go through this. It’s changed my whole life.”

Hardison said this ordeal has also brought her family closer together.

“It’s been a blessing,” she said.

Michel has Type B blood and Hardison said she was informed that in this area of the country Type B blood is very common, so she is encouraged that her mother will soon have a new lifesaving liver soon.

Funds can also be donated directly to HelpHopeLive, a 501c3 nonprofit, as a tribute gift to Southeast Liver Transplant Fund in Honor of Mary Michel. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Their phone number is 800-642-8399 or visit them online at HelpHopeLive.org.