Tom's Transplant Journey Needs Your Help

I want to tell our story.

Even if this wasn’t one of hope. Even if it hadn’t turned out the way it had. I want to tell it.

In reality, it started before Tom and I met. Tom was just out of college and found out his kidney’s weren’t functioning 100%. It was not diabetic damage. Doctor’s say the kidney scarring is from a childhood illness . While dating, Tom confided in me about his health. He was scared it would make me change my mind about dating him, that I wouldn’t love a “damaged” person.

27 years of happy marriage. Guess we answered that question.

Knowing this was on the horizon, it still was a shock in December of 2023 when we were told Tom had 5 years until his kidneys shut down. Three months later the story changed. Tom needed to go into the kidney transplant program now. There was crying. Anger. Fear. Confusion. We made the decision quickly, however, to enroll him into the transplant program at Massachusetts General Hospital. The next day I registered as a potential donor, along with his father.

2024 was an emotional rollercoaster. Tom went through battery after battery of blood tests. A full day at Mass Gen, meeting doctors and gathering information. Tom’s dad desperately worked with the VA to get tested. In the end, he couldn’t donate due to health reasons.

Somehow, I snuck in before anyone else. I faced my needle phobia and got my vaccines updated. Had a blood draw of 8 vials. Three days later I’m on a video call with a doctor. “Does this mean I’m compatible?”.

“Yes. Congratulations.”

Holy sh!t. I’m on cloud nine. I’m hopeful and scared at the same time. Now the gauntlet is run. As Tom went through his tests. I had mine. Full days with tests and doctors. Emotional rollercoasters. A tsunami of information.

It's 2025. Here we are. Tom has another day at Mass Gen. Another test, Cardio Angiogram, passed. Tests are going well but we’re nowhere near done. Scheduling is being talked about more and more. Surgery is no longer on the horizon but in our near future.

This is the biggest obstacle our little family has ever faced. It has been made easier with support from family and friends. Sometimes we underestimate what we have for community. There are still times this feels like an impossible mountain. Others the probability, not the possibility, reminds us that this is not something we can survive, but something where we can thrive. The medical debt is real. We’ve all heard about it. We may even have friends and family struggling with it. We are now part of that statistic, even with insurance.

I know this is a chaotic time for everyone. Thank you for any help you can provide. Thank you for walking this journey with us. Thank you for sharing our story.

Karen Gosselin