Our dear friend and work family member, Michael Gardner, needs your help. Michael has been with ISI since 2018 and serves us as a Client Service Manager. We have watched with great inspiration and amazement as Michael gracefully navigated through a terrifying journey to diagnosis over the past 24 months.

About 24+ months ago, Michael started having symptoms that no one could accurately explain. After multiple hospitalizations, surgeries, and often painful medical procedures, Michael was hit with devastating news that he has Wild Type ATTR Amyloidosis attacking his heart and that there is NO CURE other than a heart transplant. Mortality is the unfavorable outcome. Over the past 18 months, his condition has worsened, and the very expensive experimental medications (over $3k per month out of pocket) prescribed to relieve some of his symptoms have taken a toll on his kidneys as well.

In March of 2025, he began the extensive process of testing at Northwestern Medical Hospital in Chicago to be considered for a Heart and Kidney Transplant. After months of tests and hospitalizations, the transplant committee denied Michael's transplant. In July, Michael was referred to the University of Chicago Medical Center where a world-renowned ATTR doctor practices, and the process of treatments and tests started all over. By the time they had prepared his file to be submitted to the transplant committee, the international guidelines for double transplants changed. On September 29th, Michael's transplant was denied once again.

On October 10th, Michael finally received the miracle that we had all been praying for. Michael received an unexpected call from a doctor. The doctor said he was from Europe and was familiar with Michael's case and would like to discuss more when the doctor arrived back in the States. We, of course, thought it could be a scam. During the next call, the doctor revealed that he was affiliated with Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville and requested that Michael come there to be evaluated. His first in-person visit at Vanderbilt was on November 5th; it was impressive. The next appointments were December 3rd, 4th, and 5th. On December 9th, the committee met and at 4 pm notified him that Michael had been approved for the transplant.

While we consider this a blessing, there is still a long, expensive road ahead. Multiple pre-transplant visits to Nashville, airlifts once a donor is found, post-transplant caregiver assistance, and post-transplant short-term living accommodations in Nashville will all be required over the next 8 to 15 months. Our goal is to relieve some of the financial stress of his journey so he can focus on recovery.