Let's start with the positive - June 2nd, 2025 was the day! After waiting patiently for quite some time, Mayo St. Mary found the perfect match for Brad's heart/lung transplant. Brad and his family are eternally grateful for the donor and the team at Mayo. The surgery went well; recovery will take some time, but Brad is stubborn and in the very best hands with his care team.

Brad was born with a congenital heart defect. He underwent surgery at 18 months old to correct it, which ended up causing a stroke - that procedure took much longer than expected. Luckily, the repair lasted 40+ years! After all that time, Brad's heart started failing, resulting in pulmonary hypertension. At that point, a heart/lung transplant became a necessity.

So here we are. Insurance has picked up medical - that certainly helps. His tenacious spirit enabled Brad to continue working and making a good living up until he was forced to stop in October 2024. He hopes to get back to it after meeting the timeline for 100% recovery; doctors estimate this will take one year. In the meantime, he has applied for disability but has yet to be approved. As you can imagine, Brad needs his wife with him through all of this! Kathy has exhausted her PTO and continues to work as much as she can while still providing the care that Brad needs. She plans to go back full-time in the fall once Brad has made it through the worst of his recovery.

Brad and Kathy are committed to making the most of the incredible donor gift. In order to do that, they need some help. Financial support in paying their monthly bills at home as well as covering the financial burden of spending an extended period of time in Rochester for recovery is desperately needed and greatly appreciated.