Shamara Archie always knew she was a miracle.
It just turned out it would take several years, a few tears and a lot of traveling to get there.
The Galloway Township woman spent eight years in liver failure.
Her faith would be tested along the way, but never falter. There would be time away from her husband and son, physical and emotional pain, and so many surgeries that she would stop counting at 200.
It all eventually would lead to Saturday, when the proud owner of a new-to-her liver will participate in the 29th annual Gift of Life Donor Dash in Philadelphia.
Team Believer to Receiver will include Shamara, her husband and son, along with friends and family.
"I'm going to do as much as I can," the Atlantic City native told BreakingAC. "If I can't finish it, I'm Ok with that."
"When I say community, I mean community," Shamara said of the support she got from her friends and family, The first time BreakingAC told Shamara's story was in 2019, when the community pulled together to try to find her a living donor. But that was not to be.
Five years later, she was declining rapidly. Talk turned to hospice.
"My husband did not like that idea at all," she said.
Dale Archie has been by Shamara's side since she was 16 years old. He was not about to just let her go in peace, as she suggested.
He knew there had to be a way.
Shamara was half asleep when Dale had her get on the phone, giving him permission to talk on her behalf.
"I had no idea I was on the phone with the Mayo Clinic," she said.
Within hours, it was all set up. She would travel to the clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., where the road to a new liver would begin.
They packed months worth of testing into a week.
"I need you to look at me," the Clinic's Dr. Nicole Loo told her. "I'm going to get you a liver."
It was a promise Shamara heard many times before.
"I'll believe it when I see it," she thought.
Months of testing would follow in an attempt to get on the transplant list.
"I'll handle it, Shamara," was a constant response from her sister, Shavona Roberts.The call came Christmas Eve 2024: "Merry Christmas! You've been approved for the transplant list."
Now, there was another challenge.
In order to stay on the list, you have to be within nine hours of the clinic.
The couple had faith that "God worked it out before, he'll do it again."
The next day, Dale's cousin Shirley Barnes to check up, and heard about the need to be near Jacksonville.
"I live in Jacksonville," Shirley said.
At the end of January 2025, Shamara got in the car and drove to Florida, leaving Dale and their then-9-year-old son, Jayden, behind.
"It was one of the hardest decisions in my life," she said.
While Shamara was there, Shirley had to move.
That's when Shamara's cousin Shamelle Clagette stepped in. She lives in Clearwater, Fla.
The house was near the beach, where Shamara would meditate, mentally preparing.
"I had a feeling I can't even begin to explain," she said. "I kept telling everybody 2025 was going to be different."
She was going to turn 40. Somehow, she knew the new decade in her life would be a bright new chapter.
There were still things to deal with, like knowing someone would have to die for her to live.
She also was missing home, especially being away from her son.
One night, Shamara's friends could hear her struggling being away from home while on the phone with them. The next day, she opened her cousin's door to find Mandy Days-Chapman and Megan Davenport had flown to Florida to give her a piece of home.Then there were the trips back every two months to have the two stents in her liver changed. At those times, she would be paused on the list since she was too far away.
Things were getting desperate. On Sept. 10, the stent procedure that normally took about two hours took nearly three times as long.
"I hope and pray you get a liver soon," her doctor, Nuzhat Ahmad, told her.
Oct. 22, 2025, it looked like that was going to happen.
She was supposed to get a call at 5 p.m. to confirm everything.
Instead, the call brought bad news: "The liver is no good."
"I just need to cry this out," she said. "Give me five minutes to cry this out, and then I'll be fine."
She screamed and cried, and then told herself this was just the dry run.
The transplant surgeon, Dr. C. Bucin Tanner, called to explain.
"I need to tell you why this liver isn't good enough for you," he said. "I asked, 'Would I give this liver to my daughter?' and my answer was no. So my answer to you was no."
Shamara agreed. She wanted the liver that was perfect for her.
Three days later, she got the call.
She was calmer this time.
Her husband rushed to her, and made it just in time.
Dale Archie made it to the hospital 30 minutes before surgery. "Thank God for him," Shamara said, noting that every time she opened her eyes post-op, "He was there."Oct. 27, she went into surgery.
When she woke up, "it was that feeling like when you're at Disney World and all the fireworks are going off."
"The only way I can describe it is I felt like a newborn in an adult body," she said. "I forgot what it felt like to be normal."
Shamara is relearning her body without the pain.
"Having this second chance at life means more to me than anything," she said. "Taking care of this liver is like taking care of a newborn."
She also knows that the end of someone else's story allowed hers to continue.
That is why the Donor Dash is so important. There, she will not only gather with her friends and family, but will meet other recipients and families of donors.
"I'm just so excited," Shamara said. "I'm trying to take one day at a time."
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Shamara in October 2024, left, when talk turned to hospice and in October 2025, a week after her transplant.
