Grateful patient determined to fund housing option at UTSW

By Ron Durham

Dr. Sherrette Shaw-Fontenot, a Wichita Falls-based physician, received a new lease on life by the donated heart of Madison “Maddie” Hope Welch, an 18-year-old college student killed in a truck-auto accident.

Dr. Shaw-Fontenot said she keeps in touch with Maddie’s mother, Jennifer Young Hopkins, who still lives in the Louisiana town of Zachary. Ms. Hopkins has set up a “Have Hope” page on Facebook in memory of Maddie, who elected to become a designated donor at 15 when she first got her driver’s license.

“Right now it’s hard for Jennifer,” Dr. Shaw-Fontenot said. “I will text her and if it’s a good day she will text back. They just did an investigative report on the accident so she’s reliving it all again. They don’t know what trucking company it was. The police didn’t get information from weigh station in time. So it’s disheartening for her.”

To honor the student’s organ donation, Dr. Shaw-Fontenot has set up a GoFundMe page to generate support for “Maddie’s House,” a place for families and caregivers of transplant patients to live while going through the treatment program at UT Southwestern. “Maddie’s House,” a 501(c)(3) organization, would offer affordable housing for families who must travel more than 50 miles for treatment.

“Everybody who knows me knows I’m on a mission,” Dr. Shaw-Fontenot said. “So many people have to travel to Dallas to have care. I have some dear friends here who housed me. Most privately owned hospitals have a hospitality facility, but either it was gifted or they lease it for a dollar a year. UT Southwestern deserves that. We deserve a very nice hospitality house.

“In the beginning you have to be here five days a week. Three days a week in the clinic and two days a week in cardiac rehab. You do this for 5 to 6 weeks. That’s why transplant patients need a place to stay. You go from that to twice a week and then once a week. Now I’m down to every 12 weeks. If you can’t secure housing, you can’t follow the program; you can’t have a transplant.”

For more information on Madison “Maddie” Hope Welch and Maddie’s House, visit: