A Mother’s Gift: The Foundation for a Lifelong Passion in Writing
Every mother has her unique way of guiding and teaching her children. My mother was no exception. She was instrumental in teaching me to read and write even before I started my formal education. Her nurturing and guidance have made me who I am today: a passionate writer and the proud author of the L.A. Loft Blog and Entar.com. As we celebrate Mother’s Day, I want to share my story as a tribute to my mother and all the amazing moms out there who shape their children’s lives in profound ways.
The Wise Woman and Her Free-Range Approach
My mother was not the type to constantly instruct me on what to do or not to do. Instead, she was more of a free-range mom who believed in giving me space to learn and grow at my own pace. She offered valuable advice when needed, and time has revealed that she was, indeed, a wise woman. Her approach allowed me to develop a strong sense of independence and curiosity, which later translated into my passion for reading and writing.
The California Home
The Gift of Reading and Writing
Before I even set foot in my first grade classroom, my mother had already taught me to read and write at a third-grade level. She recognized the importance of a strong foundation in literacy and spent countless hours nurturing my abilities. This early start in my education not only made me feel confident and ready for school but also sparked a love for reading and writing that has stayed with me throughout my life.
The L.A. Loft Blog: A Testament to a Mother’s Love
In addition to Loft Blog readers, friends and clients, my mother’s guidance and support led to my success. Her belief in me and her dedication to my education laid the groundwork for my passion for writing. This Mother’s Day, I want to acknowledge her impact on my life and express my gratitude for her unwavering love and support.
A Gift for All Mothers
This Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate the wisdom, love, and dedication of all mothers, both present and those who are no longer with us. Each mother has her unique way of shaping her children’s lives, and their influence lasts a lifetime. So here’s a heartfelt gift to all moms out there: Buy a home in May, get $5,000 cash from your broker, the Corey Chambers Team, at closing. Happy Mother’s Day!
Though my mother is no longer here, her legacy lives on in my writing and my love for reading. Her wisdom and love have made a lasting impact on my life, and I am forever grateful. As we celebrate Mother’s Day, let’s remember to honor and appreciate the incredible women who have made us who we are today. Happy Mother’s Day to all the wise, loving, and dedicated mothers out there. Your impact is immeasurable, and your love knows no bounds.
Corey Chambers Team raising $25,000 for CHLA
Supporting Moms at Children’s Hospital: How Your Real Estate Referrals Can Help Families in Need
There are many ways to make a positive impact on the lives of families with sick children. At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the dedicated staff goes above and beyond to support mothers whose children are fighting for their lives. As we approach Mother’s Day, it’s important to remember that many moms are by their child’s bedside, focusing on their well-being rather than on their own special day. One way you can help these moms and their children is through your real estate referrals. Read on to learn how your referrals can make a difference in the lives of these families.
The Mission: Raising $25,000 for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Our team is on a mission to raise $25,000 for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The funds raised will support the Children’s Recovery Center, where kids battling cancer and other debilitating diseases receive life-saving care. The Recovery Center relies on sponsorships and donations to operate, and your real estate referrals can help ensure that more children have access to this vital resource.
Children receiving care at the Children’s Recovery Center are 300% more likely to enter remission when they can access its services. With your help, we can make a difference in the lives of these young patients and their families.
How Your Referrals Help the Kids
When you refer someone to our real estate sales team, not only do they benefit from our award-winning service, but we also donate a substantial portion of our income from every home sale to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. This means that your referrals directly contribute to the well-being of children in need.
How to Make a Referral
Referring someone is easy. Just visit www.ReferralsHelpKids.com or call us directly at 213-880-9910. You can rest assured that your referrals will receive excellent service, as well as our exclusive guarantees:
Home Sellers: We will sell your home at your price, or we’ll buy it ourselves.*
Home Buyers: If you are not completely satisfied with your home within 24 months of purchase, we will buy it back or sell it for free, your choice.*
Why Your Referrals Matter
Your referrals not only help us provide top-notch real estate services, but they also support a worthy cause. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles relies on the generosity of people like you to continue its life-saving work.
As we honor mothers this month, let’s not forget the moms who are fighting for their children’s lives. Your referrals can make a difference for these families and help Children’s Hospital continue its vital mission.
*Conditions apply. Please inquire for details.
A Lifelong Connection: Why I Support Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is a beacon of hope for countless families in need of specialized care for their children. As a native of the Greater Los Angeles Area, I have always felt a deep connection to this incredible institution and its mission. In this article, I will share my personal story of why I support Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and how my team and I work together to contribute to their cause.
A Personal Connection to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
We are grateful for your support in our effort to raise $25,000 for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. By referring friends, family, and associates to our real estate sales team, you’re not only helping them find their dream home, but you’re also giving back to a meaningful cause. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of children and their families. Visit www.ReferralsHelpKids.com or call us at 213-880-9910 to make a referral today.
Growing up in the Greater Los Angeles Area, I was born in Los Angeles County at St. Francis Hospital. My connection to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles began when a young person close to our family suffered from a severe illness and received treatment at CHLA. This experience opened my eyes to the vital work carried out by the dedicated healthcare professionals at the hospital. As a result, I felt compelled to contribute to their mission in any way possible.
The Common Cause: Healing Young Lives
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles brings together hard-working healthcare professionals from the Los Angeles area, united by a common cause – to help young people overcome the health challenges life sometimes presents. As a native of the area, I take immense pride in supporting the incredible work carried out by the CHLA team. My team and I have made it our annual goal to raise money and donate a portion of our income to help CHLA in their quest to heal young people when they need it the most.
Our Commitment to Supporting CHLA
My team and I are dedicated to providing outstanding results for buyers and sellers referred to us by our past clients. We have found that Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shares a similar commitment to their patients. Since their services rely on sponsorships and donations, we are delighted to contribute and proud to support their life-changing work.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is an institution that has touched the lives of countless families in the Greater Los Angeles Area. My personal connection to CHLA has inspired me and my team to support their mission in any way we can. By raising funds and donating a portion of our income, we aim to contribute to the incredible work they do to heal young lives. Together, we can make a difference and help CHLA continue to provide hope and healing to those who need it the most.
A 67-Year-Old Donor’s ‘Sliver of Liver’ Saves a Baby’s Life
Selena’s successful liver transplant highlights the viability of older donors and the work of CHLA’s living donor program, one of the busiest in the nation.
“How Selena Met Mark” is unusual and random, and yet a story that ultimately comes around to make great sense—and good science.
In their first encounter, Selena met only a piece of Mark—his liver, specifically, and only a small slice of it. “A sliver of my liver,” Mark likes to say.
Mark Scotch was, and still very much is, a living donor who matched with Selena through the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles living donor liver transplant program, one of the few and busiest programs of its kind in the U.S. One-third of transplanted donor livers at CHLA come from living donors.
So what was so unusual about how the two connected? First, Scotch was not family. “It happens, but it’s uncommon,” says CHLA surgeon Kambiz Etesami, MD, Director of Abdominal Transplantation and Surgical Director of the Liver Transplant Program, who assisted in performing Selena’s transplant.
And random? Scotch was an altruistic liver donor—now more commonly called “non-directed,” Dr. Etesami says, meaning his liver could go to whoever needed it. It didn’t take long before it found Selena.
Liver failure caused by biliary atresia
Selena was born with biliary atresia, a disorder that inflames and scars the bile ducts, preventing bile—a green-yellow fluid—from flowing out of the liver and through the ducts and eventually into the small intestine. Because of the blockage, bile gets stuck in the liver, damaging the organ and, eventually, causing it to fail.
“It’s the most rapidly progressive fibrotic disease of the liver, period,” CHLA hepatologist and gastroenterologist Keith Hazleton, MD, says. “It causes incredibly fast scarring of the liver.”
Though a congenital disease, biliary atresia can’t be detected before birth, but it’s typically identified early, since its symptoms—a yellowing of the skin and eyes—are apparent to anyone. And when caught early, an intervention called the Kasai procedure establishes bile flow to the intestines through a direct connection to the liver.
The surgery is ideally performed shortly after birth, but Selena’s case wasn’t caught until she was 6 months of age. Dr. Hazleton says that can happen because jaundice has other causes that are more common and harmless, including what’s called breast milk jaundice, where substances in breast milk disrupt the liver’s ability to process bilirubin.
A biopsy of Selena’s liver confirmed the diagnosis—a blockage in the bile ducts. Since she was not eligible for the Kasai procedure, the only option available was a transplant, and at 6 months old she was already a quarter of the way through the two-year range for her survival if her liver went untreated.
“Unfortunately,” Dr. Hazleton says, “this condition is fatal without treatment by two years of age—100% of the time.”
Since birth, E.J.’s oxygen saturation level had been consistently low, once dipping down to 33%, far below the desired 95% to 100%. Before the Glenn Procedure, his level averaged about 60% to 70%. Now it began rising. “He was very active, with a lot of energy,” Marie says.
A living donor emerges
To increase Selena’s chances at getting a liver transplant, doctors advised her mother, Liliana, to take Selena to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles so she could be a candidate for live donor liver transplantation, as the local pediatric center in Arizona could not offer that to her.
After being evaluated at CHLA in early spring of 2023, she was placed on the waiting list for liver transplantation, and the process of evaluating potential live donors began.
Meanwhile, Selena’s condition declined. “Her belly started getting round and hard, and her skin went completely yellow,” Liliana says. “Her eyes were a green-yellow. She was getting worse, not just on her labs and tests. You could see it happening.”
In late May 2023, Selena’s wait for a donor ended after a brief two months when she matched with Scotch, who three years earlier was introduced to organ donation after an idle chat with a man in a Louisiana bar ended in Scotch’s volunteering to give the man his kidney.
He has since become a vigorous advocate, riding his bike across the U.S. along “The Organ Trail,” as he named it, to bring attention to the dire need for donors, traveling the same routes taken by his donated organs. His first ride took him from his home in Madison, Wisconsin to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Though his kidney ended up going to someone in New York because it didn’t match with the guy in the bar, the ride commemorated their fateful meeting.
To get his message out, Scotch pitches media outlets to cover his journeys. “An old guy riding a bike with one kidney,” he says. “Isn’t that an interesting story?”
The “Today” show and PBS, among others, certainly thought so. Additionally, transplant centers have joined with Scotch in promoting organ donorship as he rides through their town.
Scotch came into Selena’s life as the result of appearing at one such event at longstanding CHLA partner Keck Medical Center of USC, where he was encouraged to get an evaluation at the center’s Living-Donor Liver Program. He was rejected because doctors would need to remove too much of his liver to allow it to still function for Scotch. The portion they could safely take was not enough to give to an adult.
“I thought, well, I’m off the hook,” Scotch says.
Not so fast, he found out. His liver was just fine for donating to a child, who needed a much smaller cut of it. His name was placed on the living donor registry for liver in October 2022. Months later it matched with Selena.
Dual surgeries were performed May 25, 2023, timed so that the segment of Scotch’s liver was removed at Keck Hospital, transported to CHLA, and implanted into Selena within a matter of hours.
Doubts about an older donor
What distinguished Selena’s transplant was the age of the donor. At the time of the donation, Scotch was 67. That’s far past the age limit most hospitals apply to living donors, and on first consideration, seems illogical.
“Most centers would say less than 50 years old for the donor,” Dr. Etesami says. “He was probably one of the oldest donors in the country ever, if not the oldest.”
The idea of a 67-year-old man’s liver being suitable for an infant challenges common sense. One would figure that a liver depreciates like an automobile—the more usage, the more wear and tear on it, the less value it has.
“You’re thinking, the younger the donor, the more longevity there is in the organ,” Dr. Etesami says. “While generally true, an exact cutoff age is not really based on concrete science. There’s no 1-to-1 correlation between the age of the person and the age of their organ.”
“There’s no 1-to-1 correlation between the age of the person and the age of their organ.” — CHLA transplant surgeon Kambiz Etesami, MD
He explains that the liver, unique among all organs, renews itself. Only about 20% of an adult liver—the left lateral lobe—is taken and transplanted into an infant. The portion that was left alone will soon regrow almost in full, with new cells generating and original tissue enlarging. Additionally, since only a small piece of liver is removed, the surgery presents far less risk to the donor than if a larger segment was being removed for transplant into an adult.
Dr. Etesami notes that the health of the donor is more telling than the age. Scotch, who has competed in several ultra-endurance cycling events—“I’ve done 160-mile races in the middle of winter, 20 below zero,” he says—is in superior shape.
“If you have a perfectly healthy 60-something-year-old who wants to donate a small portion of the liver,” Dr. Etesami says, “although historically this hasn’t been done routinely, cases like Selena’s help to demonstrate that maybe they merit consideration.”
After the liver transplant
Following the same-day surgeries, Scotch had a note sent to Selena’s family to see if they would be interested in meeting him. Liliana responded that they were, and a week later both sides met at CHLA.
“I didn’t even know what to say,” Liliana says. “I did thank him. That’s the first thing I did. I thanked him and I hugged him.”
They keep up with each other’s lives over the phone. Selena, now 2 ½ and thriving, recognizes Scotch, even if she doesn’t know who he is yet.
“We show her pictures,” Liliana says. “I talked to Mark the other day and she heard his voice and she ran to the phone to say hello.
“We see him like a family friend. We reach out to him and tell him how grateful we are, especially on Selena’s birthday or holidays, or when milestones come around that we know we wouldn’t have reached without his generosity.”
A little over a year ago, Scotch visited Liliana’s family at their home. He left with a gift that he now keeps in his office.
“They made a couple of little posters for me,” he says. “One says, ‘Because of you, she lives.’ I’m looking at it right now. It’s a heart, a red heart.”
Mark Scotch joined CHLA and Keck Hospital of USC on April 4 at events celebrating National Donate Life Month. Afterward, Scotch began his bike ride back home to Wisconsin, retracing the route his liver took to get to Selena.
Best outcomes for pediatric liver transplants in the country
One-third of donated livers come from living donors
Tied for third-most pediatric liver transplants performed
How You Can Help
Anyone you know who might be making a move — refer them to the Corey Chambers real estate team. Not only will they benefit from our award winning service, but this very worthy cause will benefit as well. Corey Chambers 213-880-9910 helpkids@coreychambers.com www.ReferralsHelpKids.com
I read that we are working from January 1st through June 30th of each year to pay all of our taxes. Before that, 100% goes to the government in some form or fashion. It pays for some kind of government worker, work program, social program, defense, project, health care, common good. Whatever you want to call it, April 15th is TAX day, the deadline for filing your federal income taxes.
So in celebration of this particular time of year, let’s talk TAX relief. If you received last month’s letter from me, you would recall our goal of trying to raise $25,000.00 for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, CHLA. But – we need your help, and I believe you can benefit from the TAX relief.
Just down the street from where I am typing this, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles has a whole house of kids fighting for their lives. For them and their parents’ taxes are not “top of mind,” health is. Living is. Surviving is. As you may have heard, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles is front and center in the fight against nasty diseases that destroy or cut short the lives of Children. We are thankful to have such a fantastic facility close by, doing such great work to help heal and save young people. So even though we are trying to figure out how much we owe the taxman, many are simply hoping they can be here to actually pay taxes. So we here at Entar have resolved to do what we can to help.
Please know that my team and I are eager to help anyone you know wanting to make a move. So much so that we are willing to make an offer that your referrals will LOVE – AND – the Kids at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will love too.
Your referrals help the kids!
If you or a friend are thinking about selling, make sure to choose a real estate company you can trust! A real estate company with experience, proven results, and a give-back philosophy!
AND REMEMBER… Your referrals help the Kids…
We are on a mission to raise $25,000 for CHLA. We do this by donating a portion of our income from homes we sell. As you know, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles does great work in helping kids fight through and survive nasty life-threatening diseases like cancer, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and others. They also lead the way in helping kids come back from spinal cord injuries as well as early diagnosis of autism. Last year alone, Children’s helped over 1,000,000 kids right here in Los Angeles. BUT, Children’s relies on sponsorships and donations to provide their elite level of care, and to keep families’ expenses to a minimum. So YOUR REFERRALS REALLY DO HELP THE KIDS…
Who do you know considering buying or selling a home you could refer to my real estate sales team?
Not only will they benefit from our award-winning service, but you can rest assured we are also donating to a very worthy cause.
Go Serve Big!!! Investing in the Children of Los Angeles.
A Real Estate Company that Gives Back!
Children’s Hospital LA leads the way in serving kids one patient at a time.
We are still boldly on a mission to raise $25,000 for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and we are making progress! We do this by donating to them a portion of our income from homes we sell. As you know, CHLA does AMAZING work in helping kids fight through and survive nasty diseases like cancer, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, and others. They also lead the way in many other fields.
They can provide this care and keep patient costs to a minimum due to donations and sponsorships. We are proud to support the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles!
As in the attached story, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles provides the best pediatric medical care available anywhere in the country. To do that, CHLA needs donations to continue its leading-edge care. We proudly donate a portion of our income from real estate sales to CHLA to help them continue serving the needs of those who most need it in our Los Angeles!
Who do you know considering buying or selling a home you could refer to our real estate sales team? Not only will they benefit from our award-winning real estate service, but a very worthy cause will also benefit as well. To refer anyone considering buying or selling a home just give me a call or pass on my number. 213-880-9910.
Thank you in advance for your referrals!
You and your referrals mean more than ever to my team and me. As we move forward thru this winter, please know we are extremely thankful for you and you being a special part of our business.
Go Serve Big!!! — Corey Chambers
Entar® Real Estate and Investment Technologies!
P.S. I copied and pasted the story below from the CHLA website. It better tells the story of the work they are doing.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
As a leading charitable hospital, CHLA depends on sponsorships and donations to continue its leading-edge service. We proudly donate a portion of our income from real estate sales to CHLA to help them continue serving the needs of those who most need it in Los Angeles!
A real estate company with experience, proven results, and a give-back philosophy!
Over the years of helping many families sell their homes and/or buy another, we have met some wonderful, loving, caring people. People like you! So your referrals can rest assured that, not only will they get the award-winning service we are known for and the guarantee to back it up, but that a solid portion of the income we receive will go toward helping the kids.
Refer your friends, neighbors, associates or family members considering making a move:
You can go to www.ReferralsHelpKids.com and enter their contact info on line or forward the link to someone you know considering a move.
Of course, you can always call me direct as well at 213-880-9910
Why I support Childrenʼs Hospital Los Angeles
I grew up right here in the Greater Los Angeles Area, born in Los Angeles County at St. Francis Hospital. I remember when I first heard about a young person close to our family suffering from a nasty disease and getting treated for that at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. It was then that I began to pay closer attention to the work they do at that hospital. Since then, I have learned that it is a collection of hard-working health care professionals, most making their home right here in the Los Angeles area, all coming together for a common cause. That cause is to help young people overcome unfortunate health issues that life sometimes throws our way. Being a Los Angeles Area California native, I take pride in supporting in a way that I can do the good work these people do at Children’s. My team rallies around our annual goal of raising money and donating portions of our income to help Children’s in their quest to heal young people when they need healing. My team and I are committed to providing outstanding results for buyers and sellers referred to us by our past clients. I have discovered that Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shares a similar commitment to their patients. And since their services survive on sponsorships and donations, we are happy to contribute and proud to support them.
Sincerely,
Corey Chambers
Defying the Odds
She was born with Pierre Robin sequence and spent the first three months of life in the hospital. Now 8, Julie Rose stands tall and greets each day with positivity and confidence.
When Julie Rose comes to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for appointments, it often turns into a social event. The 8-year-old, a lifelong patient, is known to many hospital team members and loves catching up with people she considers to be old friends. And the feeling is mutual.
“When people see her in the hallways, they will stop and chat. I have wondered what makes her so memorable,” Julie Rose’s mom, Christina, muses. “It’s just who she is—talkative, approachable, friendly.”
Julie Rose is also a huge fan of the hospital that has cared for her since she was a baby. Born prematurely and diagnosed with Pierre Robin sequence, a rare condition that affects the head and face, Julie Rose had cleft lip and palate, and micrognathia (an undersized jaw). For the first three months of her life, Julie Rose was a patient in CHLA’s Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit (NICCU).
“When we were in the NICCU they told us she might not crawl, she might not walk,” Christina says. “As she’s gotten older, she does have some physical limitations, but she does everything in her own time and her own way to make it work.”
Now in second grade, Julie Rose is a Girl Scout and enjoys being outdoors, doing art, and playing with her extensive doll collection. Stemming from her own experience at CHLA, she often role plays with her dolls, performing procedures on them and providing the right treatments to heal them.
“She knows quite a bit about her experience and asks about what happened to her,” Christina says, noting that Julie Rose has undergone 16 surgeries and continues to see CHLA specialists in Dentistry and Orthodontics, and in the Jackie and Gene Autry Orthopedic Center for scoliosis and hip dysplasia. “I kept an online photo album for her, and she’ll say “Wow, I went through all of that?”
“She loves, loves, loves CHLA and she has been a Junior Ambassador since she was 2,” Christina says, referring to the program for kids and teenagers who support the hospital’s mission by fundraising and participating in a variety of volunteer and leadership opportunities. “She likes meeting the other kids and hearing about the things they do to help raise awareness and fundraise.”
In June, Julie Rose will join thousands of hospital supporters at CHLA’s annual Walk & Play L.A. – Opens in a new window event, where she will serve as one of three patient “Champions.” The role is perfect for Julie Rose, who has overcome incredible odds.
Accepting of others and exuding empathy, “Teachers, nurses, staff at the hospital—anywhere we go, they’re like, “Julie Rose is such a joy!” Christina says. “When I think of all the things she’s gone through, you’d never guess in a million years if you just met her. She’s awesome and happy.”
How You Can Help
Refer your friends, neighbors, associates, or family members considering making a move: www.ReferralsHelpKids.com or call Corey at 213-880-9910
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