Shari Murphree wouldn’t be traveling to the Carvana Mesa Cup on Wednesday if not for a life-saving gesture from a fellow Oklahoman eager to step up and make a difference.

It was the latter part of 2024 when Murphree was steadily losing her battle with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)—an advanced form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease—unless a liver transplant could be secured as soon as possible.

That’s when Nikki Baker stepped in. After learning about Murphree’s struggles through her pickleball friend group, she volunteered to undergo extensive testing and evaluation to see if she could be a compatible living donor.

As it turned out, Baker was a match, and the transplant procedure was successfully performed on April 8, 2025, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, an institution consistently ranked among the top hospitals in the world.

A surgical team removed 70 percent of one of Baker’s liver lobes, while another team rapidly transplanted it into Murphree, who, the night before surgery, was considered to be in “Severe/Extreme” condition and teetering on the edge of death.

“It had gotten to the point where I was on oxygen 24/7 because of hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), and I also had some encephalopathy in my brain. I was having trouble putting sentences together and remembering my words, and I had no energy,” recalled Shari. “I didn’t realize I was as sick as I was until I wasn’t sick.”

Despite a few challenges since her transplant, Shari is pleased to share that she’s doing “really well” health-wise and will soon return to Minnesota for her one-year checkup appointment.

The magnitude of Nikki’s selfless act will remain with her forever. Literally.

“I call Nikki my “Lister” because she’s my “Liver Sister.” The whole experience really made me stop and appreciate life and appreciate my surroundings. I know that tomorrow is not a guarantee, and I try to live my life like that now,” said Shari. “I’m just so grateful that I have the opportunity to still see things that I enjoy, pickleball being one of them. It’s just such a blessing. I just can’t put into words the gratitude and thankfulness that I have.”

Shari is actually heading to the tournament alongside Nikki and three other ladies—Roxy Schlatter, Rhonda Schlatter and Tracy Garrison—to celebrate Nikki’s birthday.

They plan to take in the matches on Thursday, Friday and Saturday on Humana Championship Court at the Arizona Athletic Grounds.

What makes this particular story even more compelling is that Nikki barely knew Shari when she decided to get tested to see if she could be a potential donor.

All she knew was that a friend of a friend desperately needed help, and she was willing to be a possible solution.

“I love Roxy and Ronnie. They’ve become good friends, and they’ve always been kind. I knew how important this was for Roxy, and it was going to shatter her world [if Shari didn't get the transplant in time]. She’d already had so much loss in her life in the past when it comes to family,” explained Nikki. “I didn’t want them to have one more loss, and I figured if I could help them, that I needed to do that.”

It was the very definition of selflessness, yet Nikki remains remarkably humble about it.

That’s simply who she is.

“I don't think about it a lot on the regular. Maybe it's just my personality. I did a thing that needed to be done, and I’m glad I did. I’m glad it changed someone’s life, but I don’t need recognition for it. I didn’t do it for that,” explained Nikki. “I just did it because someone needed help. If someone needs my help, I’m more than happy to help in any way I can. It just so happened to be this way. What I did may be good, but it went to people that are good humans. They do a lot of good things for others, so I was happy to do it.”

There’s no doubt the group will have a memorable experience in Mesa, celebrating both life and the sport they hold close to their hearts.

It’s always nice when a story ends on such a positive note.

“It’s going to be an opportunity for us to hang out and enjoy each other’s company in an environment that we’re excited about,” said Nikki. “It’s just nice to see athletes that you’re fond of play on the court, and now this time we get to spend it with some people that we really love, so that should make this trip pretty special for us all.”