Matt Has A Match!

UPDATE 11/20/2023:

In October, two days after turning in the official surgery date paperwork to Matt's employer, he was given notice that his department will dissolve in January and he will be without a job.

Yes, this really happens - in real life.

Lots of phone call meetings later, Matt and Krista have exhausted all possible options and asked all of the hard questions about what their options are - both in his job position with the company and regarding all possible legal outcomes. Their goal is to ensure that Matt's health insurance isn't cancelled in the middle of his recovery post-surgery. Only time will tell as to whether or not this large *corporate* company holds to their word of not ending his position sooner than promised due to his medical leave beginning one month before layoff.

More updates to come on this but I wanted to increase their goal and give everyone who is absolutely showering this little family in love to continue to do so, to share their story, and to keep up with updates. Thank you, from the bottom of all of our hearts.

-- Jamie (Krista's sister), Krista, Matt & Sammy

"Ohana means family - family means nobody gets left behind." - Lilo & Stitch

In 2022 Matt was informed he would need a kidney after suffering an ocular stroke due to unknown & undiagnosed high blood pressure. Many appointments, tests, and much stress later, Krista and Matt discovered that his kidney function was dwindling rapidly and that his options were limited for long-term survival. Doctors explained that the best course of action would be to join the wait list for a donor kidney and put off beginning dialysis completely, if at all possible. Their son, Sammy, was just 5 years old at the time.

The search began and Krista immediately began testing to join a "kidney swap" (donor exchange) program. If she were a suitable donor - based on overall health and many other factors - she could enter into an exchange program where Matt would be given priority status with an approved donor whose recipient/loved-one-in-need would receive Krista's. Many, many tests and missed days of work later - Krista was told she was not an ideal candidate for the exchange program. Matt and Krista decided to let family and friends know the severity of the situation and begin the active search for a living donor. A few months later, Matt learned that his kidney function was down to just 7%.

Siblings, on average, have a 25% chance of being an exact match for living donation; it's an ideal situation, if an exact match is found, for both the donor and the recipient to be genetically related as it lessens the chance that the recipients body will reject it's newly transplanted organ. Like all medical problems any person faces, having a positive attitude and determination to survive (and/or help) are critical to the treatment process. Enter: Matt's sister, Chassie.

When Chassie, an elementary school teacher and mom of 2 boys (Matt and Krista's nephews) learned about Matt's condition and that he was in need of a donor she immediately contacted Krista and began the testing process. After initial blood tests, Chassie made the trip from their home in Virginia to meet with the medical team at Wake Forest - Baptist Hospital to complete the final stages of compatibility tests. Box after box was checked through the many tiers of testing and it was confirmed on September 27th, 2023 that his sister was an ideal match to donate a kidney to her brother.

The current plan is that surgery will take place in late November. Matt will remain in the hospital after transplant for approximately two weeks for observing and medications; once he's home, it will take about two months before he is able to return to normal work and activity. During this time Krista, owner of her own salon Apothecurly, will have to balance her new role as caregiver with her other positions as a full time business owner and mom. As the donor, Chassie will be out of work for 6-8 weeks for her recovery, as well.

My hope in creating this funding for the McCoy family, my sister/brother-in-love/nephew (as well as Matt's sister, Chassie) is to take some of the stress and strain off of them during recovery. It is truly a miracle to have found the answer to Matt's medical crisis in such a short time - which we are all grateful for - but it has left little time to plan financially for living and providing while being out of work for an extended period of time.

Our family knows a thing or two about never giving up; above all else, Krista and Matt hope to share the message of hope and perseverance. "It takes a lot of courage to push through hard times; the tough times never last, but tough people do."