Lifesaving Liver Transplant for Tom Westcott

If you’ve ever shopped at the grocery store in Crystal Falls, you have probably met Tom Westcott.  He has dedicated his work life to serving the public, working 45-50 hours a week at the same store in our hometown for the last 30 years.  He has worked on the front lines throughout the coronavirus pandemic, showing up every day for our community and helping everyone he meets.  Over the last three decades, Tom has almost never called in sick.  However, you might have noticed that Tom has not been at work recently.  That’s because Tom’s liver is failing, and he is in desperate need of a liver transplant to save his life.

If you saw Tom today, you likely would not recognize him.  When he was diagnosed with liver failure at Thanksgiving, his body had almost completely shut down.  He is exhausted all of the time and has lost a significant amount of weight in a very short time.  He sleeps a lot and has a hard time moving around much.  The liver’s role is to remove toxins from the body, so without that process, the body struggles to do even basic tasks and any physical activity causes intense fatigue.  These toxins also cause confusion and difficulty concentrating.  He is young and was very healthy before this crisis, so we know he can get through this with our help.  

Anyone who has met Tom knows that he is an incredibly selfless, generous, and hard-working person.  He is also our beloved Papa and the anchor of our family.  Tom is a loving husband to Debbie, father to us (Kerstin, Ketti, and Kallie), father-in-law to Dave, and grandpa to Josie (8) and Tommy (7).  Tom has worked his whole life to provide for all of us, and everything he’s ever earned has always been for us, his girls.  Now he needs our help to get the transplant that will save his life and give us all many more treasured years together.

On March 8, 2021, Tom was placed on the waiting list to receive a liver transplant at UW-Madison.  He and our mom Debbie have already incurred tremendous costs.  Tom has to pay for his own health insurance and has always had a very high deductible.  In addition, non-covered medical costs are adding up so fast, including co-pays, many new prescriptions, and almost constant lab work and major testing in order to even get on the list.  

To qualify for the waiting list, Tom and Debbie have had to travel to Madison four times in the last four months, staying in a hotel each time because the hospital’s family guesthouse is closed due to Covid.  This is only the beginning.  After the transplant, he will need to be on anti-rejection medications for the rest of his life.  These prescriptions alone cost thousands of dollars a month. They will also have significant ongoing travel expenses as he has to return to Madison many times to ensure his body is adapting well after the transplant. 

Even though his liver was failing, Tom wanted to keep working as long as possible, but upon his diagnosis, his transplant doctor told him he had to stop working immediately for medical reasons.  Therefore, he does not qualify for unemployment.  When his body started to shut down, we filled out an extensive amount of paperwork to try to get him disability assistance, but it is an incredibly long process with months-long waiting periods before he can get help.  He is still waiting.  

Tom hopes and plans to return to the grocery store job he loves, but he will be medically unable to work again until well after receiving the transplant, so money is quickly becoming a huge stressor.   With no money coming in and significant money going out, we are asking for your help.  Please consider making a donation to help Tom get the lifesaving transplant he needs.  Our whole family will be forever grateful to you for helping to give us more time with our beloved Papa.