In May of this year my brother was diagnosed with advanced heart failure as a result of going undetected for a significant amount of time. He was eventually released from the hospital with new meds, new protocols, and an entire heart failure team by his side. He never really felt any better, after 2 months of trying to stay strong for his family he was diagnosed with kidney failure because his heart wasn't able to provide the kidneys with what they need. Back to the hospital he went where they pushed meds to make his heart work harder to improve his kidneys. His kidneys did improve; his heart however still wasn't. He got to go home for 2 days and now he is back in there. It has been made apparent that he needs a heart transplant. He is 45 years old and way too young to be facing all of this.

My brother, Buddy, is a father of two young children, a husband to his best friend, Marnie, among all the other roles he serves in all our lives. His kids miss him, and Marnie has been unwavering in her support of Buddy. He loves hard and is fighting even harder, to get back to the man he was before he was robbed of all this time, doing what he loves, farming, working, caring for his family. Buddy clearly isn't able to work and that will most likely be the case for an extended amount of time. Marnie is sitting by his bedside, advocating for him with doctors and updating all of us multiple times a day on his status. Therefore, sacrificing her work. She is an angel, and he is lucky to have her, but he needs us now.

I beg of you to do what you can to lighten this load for all of them. If we can take just some of the stress off of him it would give him the energy to fight even harder. The smallest amount counts, and they will be eternally grateful for all who can do even a small something. We can show him the hope and help him pick up the pieces when fate deals a losing hand.

If you or someone you know has ever faced adversity, then you understand that sometimes all it takes is one person to believe in you for you to find your strength again.

I want to show Buddy that no matter how high the odds stack against him, we are all here fighting alongside him.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for reaching out to support something so deeply personal as family health struggles, and for embracing this journey with love. We are truly grateful.