Meet Michael O'Connor. Michael's a Nashville native, a loving father to his two sons, and a life-long supporter of Nashville's DIY music scene. He's organized several fundraisers for folks in the scene when they needed it most. Now, he needs our help.

In the last several years, Michael has faced an overwhelming series of personal, professional, and medical setbacks. Fortunately, he owns a house close to family, giving him a much needed support system during these difficult times. But as the expenses mount, it's becoming evident that he may have to sell his house, separating him from the family he relies on for support.

We're hoping to raise $20,000 to help him offset his medical expenses and mortgage payments, buying him valuable time needed to secure long-term disability assistance, and allowing him to keep his home and stay close to his family upon whom he will rely for assistance as his disease progresses. Any help you can provide would be so appreciated.

We asked Michael to explain in his own words about his lifetime of challenges, and especially the events of the last 6 years:

"I was born three months premature with Aortic Stenosis and under developed lungs. Though my lungs developed normally, the heart defect has ruled my life, especially in adulthood.

Though I didn't have significant issues through grade school, I had to drop out during my senior year of college to have heart surgery. I had a “Ross Procedure” to correct the aortic valve issue. They take your Aortic valve out, then take your pulmonary valve out and put it in place of the aortic valve. A pulmonary valve from a cadaver then replaces your pulmonary valve.

About a month after I returned home from the hospital, I became violently ill with hyper emesis. Unfortunately, I had contracted an infection in my bloodstream (bacteremia) and my heart (endocarditis) with a resistant strain of staph.

After another grueling surgery, they removed all the infection and repaired the damage it had caused as best they could. Scarred, with multiple rhythm disorders I went home and eventually got 17 years out of those surgeries. In that time, I was able to start a family and bought a house on the same street I grew up on, right next door to my mom.

In 2018, my cardiologist determined my pulmonary valve and conduit should be replaced, as they were failing. I also had a pseudo aneurysm that needed patched from the prior complications. Though it'd been 17 years since my last procedure, the doctor determined that my aortic valve at that time was fine, and the surgery was completed without complications.

Just three months later, I was in the ER, very sick, as sick as I’d ever been. It turns out the stitch on a corner of the patch for the pseudo aneurysm was pulling every time my aortic valve opened or closed. Eventually, my aortic valve had torn, resulting in my return trip to the hospital.

My surgeon was out of the country, and as I waited for him to return, I went into cardiac arrest and was placed in a medically induced coma so that the surgeon could take an emergency flight and return to operate.

I awoke in the ICU a week later. My heart had been repaired using an artificial valve. However, by that point I was suffering from complete kidney failure. Though I was able to recover enough to get off of dialysis, my kidneys were permanently damaged.

About 8 months after discharge, I was informed that non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis had been discovered on a CT scan performed since my last heart surgery. After a battery of tests, I was diagnosed with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (PiZZ phenotype). In lay terms, my liver makes the AAT protein wrong. It’s mis-folded, which causes it to get stuck in the liver, eventually causing scarring, as well as a shortage of AAT in the bloodstream.

Around this time, my wife and I made the tough decision to split up, with our divorce being finalized in January 2021. It was the best thing for our family, but required me to take on considerable debt. It was a burden, but manageable. However, in October 2023, I was laid off from my job of 8 years. A month later, I was diagnosed with COPD.

As I mentioned above, I have a rare genetic condition that leads to an Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (PiZZ phenotype). Since the primary role of AAT is to protect your lungs, an AAT deficiency can lead to COPD later in life, in addition to non-alcoholic Cirrhosis of the Liver. Having both issues is rare. It only occurs in one genetic type: piZZ.

Early in 2024, I began receiving Infusion therapy (Thank you whole plasma donors!) Around that time, I asked my doctors to give me a timeframe for my reduced lifespan, as AAT Deficiency, Cirrhosis, and COPD are all progressive, degenerative disorders. I pressed them to be as accurate as they could with the data they had. I was advised that 10 years was a good goal.

Unfortunately, due to my variety of preexisting conditions, I am not a candidate for lung or liver transplant. In order to spend whatever time I have left with my sons, my family, my friends, volunteering, and doing what’s best for my health, I'm filing for disability assistance. Keeping my home will be my biggest challenge, and I’m hoping to raise money to help me pay off some medical bills and pay down my mortgage.”

We've known Michael for decades. He's been a classmate, a coworker, and a friend. Please join us in lending Michael and his family a helping hand during this time of need.