It was about 10 years ago that Bill discovered the health of his liver had severely deteriorated.  At first, he and his family had questioned his lifestyle and what had contributed to such a quick deterioration of his health.

Though the immediacy of the impact on his health was not fully understood, for Bill, the course of action was certain.  He had decided to fight wholeheartedly to regain his health, and he did just that. Fight. 

He began a diet high in vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins.  He started hiking, biking, skiing, or running every single day! He stopped all intake of alcohol and any medications or foods that could impact his liver.  He has lived a clean, healthy life for 10 years. 

Across the past decade, he has learned so much about healthy living and self-care.  He has engaged life in a deep, meaningful, and intentional way.  He discovered that there is a hereditary component to his liver disease that, regardless of lifestyle choices, he had a predisposition to liver disease. 

All this growth and healthy living paid off!  His liver had healed.  His condition was no longer severe.  It wasn't even moderate.  It was a very mild condition that he was able to continue to improve through healthy living.  

What came next, likely none of us predicted.  COVID.  Bill was diagnosed with COVID in the Spring of 2020.  Initially, he just had a fever, chills, and cold symptoms.  He was feeling better after just a week.  He had survived it with mild impact.  Or so we thought.  
It was in the months after COVID that the impact became apparent. The virus had attacked the vulnerable organ in his body,  his liver.  It attacked it beyond repair, beyond what Bill's tenacity can overcome. 

Bill's health has deteriorated significantly since the summer (2020).  There are good days where his optimism is abundant, and his tenacity is in partial view.  There are bad days when he isn't sure how much longer he has and questions if he will get to see his children's lives unfold. 

In reality, the bad days are becoming too frequent, and the good ones are fading before our eyes.  

Bill now struggles to go for a short hike with his daughter Maddy.  Health restrictions no longer allow him to go visit his son Liam at college.   Bill loves his children with all his heart, and he is terrified of not being able to watch them get married or have children.

Bill's only hope is a transplant.  As a family, we have rallied around him and are doing everything we can to make sure Bill gets the care he needs.   We have scoured the country for options for a deceased liver transplant.  The requirements for an organ transplant are too complex to explain, so in summary, Bill needs to be able to move anywhere in the US on short notice for hopes of a transplant.  We have no time to waste, we can only afford the best decisions at this junction.  

The only other option that Bill has besides moving to these locations is a live donor's possibility.  A live donor donates a lobe of their liver. This lobe would then fuse with Bill's liver and grow into a healthy liver.   The donor's liver would grow back to full size within 3  to 6 months. Donors would have no costs associated with this process.  This is obviously a serious decision and shouldn't be taken lightly.  Bill never finds out who tried to donate or who did not.  The only thing he would ever find out is if there was a match.  If you or another would consider this possibility, you would call Erica, an RN and the Living Donor Transplant Coordinator at Mount Sinai at (two 1 two - six 59 83 five one). You would inform her that you are inquiring about a living donation to William Todd with the date of birth 7/20/66.  This would be an incomprehensible gift, and there would never be enough gratitude to honor such a sacrifice.  While we will never know who called, we would like to let you know that simply calling is such an enormous gift. Even if a transplant does not result, you already have all the gratitude we could ever possibly offer!

We have also formed this GoFundMe page to raise money for the cost of moving to locations (if deceased transplant)  where a transplant has the highest likelihood.   Regardless of living or deceased donor, there will be immeasurable medical costs, caretakers, travel, and costs of living as Bill is no longer able to work.  

We are grateful for even the smallest contributions, as every last dollar will count.  If a contribution is challenging in your current circumstance, then words of love and encouragement to Bill will be immensely valuable as well!




Some extra details for all those amazing folks donating:  I am Colleen Todd, Bill Todd's sister.  I am organizing this gofundme from Colorado (USA) while Bill lives in New Jersey (USA.) I am the one responsible for all withdrawals that go directly into Bill's dedicated checking account for this gofundme. These funds will be utilized for medical care (copays, 20% of medical costs for procedures and hospitals stays), secondary costs for medical care (such as tolls, parking, and gas to drive into NYC once to thrice a week (over $50 every trip),  moving costs (trailer or truck to move items, labor to load a truck, gas, food, and tolls of driving from NJ to LA or FL, labor on the other side of the move, etc.)  costs of living afar while waiting on a transplant (rent, utilities, costs of living while waiting), augmentative care (such as acupuncture to reduce the ascites water gain as currently, Bill has been having his abdomen tapped in a dangerous procedure every few weeks to drain the fluids. He can gain 50 to 60 pounds in fluid in a matter of 3 weeks and then have it all drained.  This is an incredible toll on the body, and this is how many folks die on the transplant waiting list.) This is not an exhaustive summary of how funds will be spent as there will be some unforeseen costs, but these are the categories of where funds will be spent.