Joyce Fuller has a good reason to celebrate spring this year.

“I feel like a new person,” said Fuller, who is back home after undergoing liver transplant surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

“And I’m happy to be back in the South, away from the ice and snow, and to see the sunshine and spring flowers.”

She also seems like a new person to her husband, the Rev. Stanley Fuller, because she no longer is bedridden and is able to eat, walk, climb stairs, exercise and shop.

“It’s wonderful to have my wife back,” he said. “She can’t do the housework, cooking or laundry yet, but that will come in time.”

Joyce Fuller arrived home March 1, five weeks after undergoing the surgery.

The congregation of Spears Creek Baptist Church, where her husband is pastor, welcomed her back by having a special dinner in her honor after the Sunday worship service.

Fuller is the first South Carolinian to undergo a liver transplant at the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Gregory Gores, transplant hepatologist at the Mayo Clinic, said, “Mrs. Fuller had a typical post-operative recovery following the liver transplant.”

Last April, the 38-year-old woman was diagnosed with a life-threatening liver disease, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and was given six months to a year to live.

Her health declined rapidly in the last few weeks, but then the liver which saved her life became available.

The happiest time for Fuller after the surgery, she said, was just knowing the Lord had let her live and she could go home to her family.

The most difficult part was being away from her daughters, Wendy, 14, a student at Spring Valley High School, and Carrie, 11, a student at Pontiac Elementary.

Fuller said the first three months after the transplant are the most critical. She could develop infections or viruses, or her body could reject the liver.

For now, it’s functioning well, Fuller said, and they are taking one day at a time and hoping for the best.

“Spiritually, the biggest thing to happen to us and the church is the keen perception of God answering prayer and the perception of carrying someone else with you,” the pastor said. “Somebody had to pass away for her to get the liver, and that person will always be with us.”

Church member Swayze Legrand said Joyce Fuller is a vital part of the church, and it’s great to have her back.

Insurance is expected to pay 80 percent of the $175,000 cost of the transplant.

Legrand heads a committee that is raising funds for the operation. The committee is $10,000 short of its goal of $40,000 to pay the difference. Medication runs about $1,000 a month, and there will be future expenses for checkups at the Mayo Clinic.

Contributions may be made to the Joyce Fuller Fund, c/o Spears Creek Baptist Church, 116 Spears Creek Church Lane, Elgin 29045. Envelopes should be sent to Legrand’s attention