Tom

I retired in 2017 after 38 years of service as a paramedic with my county EMS service. We immediately started camping with my family and enjoying what we had planned for.

In December 2019 I went from healthy to hospitalized on Christmas Eve. Doctors determined I needed a liver and kidney transplant. I was sent to the University of Kentucky where after further testing it was determined that I had a rare treatable liver condition and would not need a liver transplant. I would at some point need a kidney, however.

Over the next couple years my kidneys continued to become worse, and it was apparent that dialysis was imminent, so I was sent back to UK. I was listed for a transplant not long after. I was told my best option was to find a living donor and my children turned to social media. A good friend and retired Lexington firefighter saw the posting on Facebook and contacted the UK transplant center. My friend called me after going the screening process to let me know he was a match and was going to be my living donor.

Two weeks later on July 25th my transplant to place. Fast forward 8 months I am back to work at my part-time job that I was doing before this journey started. Now today I feel better then I have felt in the past five or six years. I thank God every day for my miracle and for guiding a living donor to me