In July of 2017 my brother Carlos James (also called Eugene) was 42 and in the best shape of his life and was preparing to compete in a bodybuilding contest for the first time. As he was in the gym working out and preparing to enter his first contest he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Thinking it was just a migraine headache he continued his workout. But the pain persisted and something didn't feel right so soon thereafter he went to the hospital. At first the doctors thought he was in great shape, as he was coherent, walked in on his own, and on the surface appeared perfectly fine. But upon finding that he lost 8 pounds in 3 days, much to Carlos' dismay, and seeing his blood pressure at 268 the doctors saw something was wrong. After running a round of tests and an emergency procedure the doctors told him that he had suffered a stroke while at the gym and his kidneys were failing. This made it so remarkable that Carlos walked into the hospital and survived at all. Needless to say Carlos is a very strong and determined Man of Faith. Since then Carlos has been dealing with dialysis. He even got healthy enough to get off dialysis once, which is a huge testament to his strength and God's grace. But since he has had to resume and his kidneys got worse. Through this time he remained optimistic and tried to educate as many people as he could about proper kidney health. Fast forward to 2020, our nephew Kylon Landry, was well known in Victorville for his humor and athletic ability on the football field. He is characterized by his love for his family, strong faith in God, and his playful demeanor. But tragically his life was cut short as he was shot in the back of the head on June 13. The person who did this still needs to be found. Our family has been devastated by the turn of events, but God offers hope, and hoping to turn this tragedy into triumph Kylon's kidney was offered to Carlos so that a piece of Kylon will stay with the family and we may save Carlos. I personally was fearful that I may lose my nephew and brother in the same week, but our prayers were answered as the outstanding medical staff at Loma Linda Medical Center successfully performed the transplant late Thursday night (June 18th) into the early hours June 19th. These procedures cost a lot of money, but saving my brother is worth the cost. If you had an opportunity to meet him you would feel the same way. And we know that Kylon would be so proud to have been able to help his uncle. Organ transplants are very expensive. And Carlos' current insurance does not cover the cost. The amount is far too much for our family to cover. So we are humbly asking for help to see this hope through and cover the medical costs. So any help great or small is appreciated. We will keep everyone updated and we look forward to seeing Carlos fully healed.