Debbie Delgado - A Portrait Of Courage And Determination

Debbie Delgado-Vega is a Puerto Rican hero from the South Bronx who turned her personal life tragedy into triumph and hope for others. With her trademark cowboy hat, she fights against the scourge of liver disease, and on behalf of the community she loves.

Back in April of 1992, at the age of 29, Vega was diagnosed with incurable Autoimmune Liver Disease. Debbie's liver had degenerated into a mass of scar tissue. Her own antibodies were attacking her liver and destroying it. A liver transplant was her only chance at survival.

Devastated but not beaten, she went on a mission in search of information about her illness. She learned that there were over 50 different liver diseases and 60,000 people waiting for an organ transplant. She realized that information and support for Hispanics suffering from liver disease or in need of a transplant was almost non existent. Traditional Anglo-based organizations were just not reaching Hispanics.

Her disappointment and outrage led her to take action. Debbie, formally part of the fast paced commodities market, became one herself, creating and leading LOLA, the Latino Organization for Liver Awareness, the first organization of its kind in the country. That was 1994, one full year before her own successfully transplant, her miracle gift of life.

Since then, Debbie and LOLA have touched and saved the lives of Latinos who would not have received the proper treatment and information. What brings people to LOLA is their love of life and community. Together they transform their individual struggles into a collective movement to fight for life.

Vega, has now placed herself right at the heart of the matter, becoming the first Latina to sit on the review board of the United Network for Organ Sharing. She wears her cowboy hat to all the meetings.

"I'll continue to wear my hat as a constant reminder that my fight for life is never over, for those who died while waiting, for those who have received the miracle of life, and for those who are still waiting," says Debbie. "My dream is to live a long life and make LOLA a successful crusade."