I’ve asked this question of a few folks this week: “What would you do if you were a match to someone who needs a kidney?”

A lot of people reply, “Well, it depends on if I know them.”

A lot of people in St. John the Baptist Parish know Greg Gathers.

He is the local kid who excelled as an East St. John football player in the late 1990s. He was certainly one of the best defensive players I ever saw, finishing his senior season with 20 sacks. That is not a typo.

Greg went on to sign with Georgia Tech, where he started every game as a true freshman and was a freshman All-America, leading that team in sacks too. Three years later, he was the school’s All-Time sacks leader (31) and a hometown hero likely headed for the NFL.

Then things took a turn.

Greg’s dreams of an NFL career were crushed after he was diagnosed with Minimal Change Disease, an ailment that reduces the kidneys’ ability to filter waste from the blood.

He was fortunate to receive a new kidney from his mother, Janice. The surgery did not go perfectly. Janice suffered complications and the kidney was damaged. Still, it worked and it saved his life.

Although it didn’t allow him to return to the gridiron or see his dream of playing in the NFL, it allowed him to finish his degree, meet and marry his wife, Danaya, father four gorgeous children and become a high school football coach.

It also allowed him to see his little brother, Ricardo, become a high school basketball phenomenon, go on to a stellar career at Baylor, then switch sports and sign with the Dallas Cowboys.

Recently, Greg’s life took another turn.

On the same day his family mourned the loss of a six-week-old niece who succumbed to SIDS, Danaya got an urgent call from his doctors telling her she needed to rush her husband to an emergency room. Now.

The kidney that has carried Greg through so much life is failing. He is once again undergoing thrice weekly dialysis treatments. He needs another kidney so he can keep coaching, keep living, keep raising his children. He is seeking a match to a person with type 0 blood, positive or negative.

“It’s hard for me to ask for help,” Greg said. “Then there’s a guilt thing. I know what my mom went through.”

But Greg needs help. His kidney function is down into the 20s (that’s bad), but he’s determined to continue coaching his linebackers at East Ascension High as long as he can.

One of Greg’s former Georgia Tech teammates has set up a GoFundMe page (gofundme.com/2buqp38k) to help with expenses. Ramblin’ Wrecks from across the country are reaching out to him and his wife and are rallying to support him.

“It’s humbling,” Greg said. “The response has been unbelievable. The phone calls, the texts, the prayers. It’s amazing.”

A lot of us check the little box on our driver’s license to become an organ donor after we die and no longer need our body parts, but are you willing to become one while you’re living? Are you willing just to be tested to find out if you’re a match? All you have to do is get a physical to ensure you’re healthy and have some blood work done. All medical expenses will be paid by Greg’s insurance. While it’s not a simple operation by any means, the recovery time is four to six weeks, including a 2- or 3-day stay in the hospital.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 79 people receive organ donations every day in this country, but another 22 die while waiting.

I don’t want one of those to be my friend, Greg.

Donations to the Gathers family for medical expenses can be mailed to 618 E. Greathaven St., Gonzales, LA, 70737.

  

Lori Lyons is sports editor of L’OBSERVATEUR. She can be reached at 985-652-9545 or lori.lyons@lobservateur.com