DUNCAN, Okla_A Duncan man desperately
needs a liver transplant, and he's turning to the community to help him. Rod Gilbert
was diagnosed with liver disease one year ago. In November, doctors told him he
only had one year to live. Since then he has been put on the transplant list
along with 248 other Oklahomans.
Rod said he's
not sure when he might get the transplant, but they said every little bit of
aid helps and will go towards a fund in his name with the national foundation
for transplants for other expensive medication and doctor visits that are
putting the family in financial turmoil.
"I was
thinking, I'm dead, there's nothing I can say or do just color my butt
dead."
Rod Gilbert
said the outdoor lifestyle he was once used to came to a screeching halt, no
longer being able to fish, hunt or even work on house projects, because his
illness makes him too exhausted.
"From
here, to the door and I'm wore out. I am flat wore out."
Rod's life
after the diagnosis now consists of going to Oklahoma City on a monthly basis to have check up's and purchasing costly
medication since his liver now functions at less than 10 percent which has put
a huge financial burden on the family.
"It's just
my pay check and I don't make as much. So it's like very, very expensive. His
medicine alone takes my paychecks," Rod's wife Corie said.
Gilbert said
the most difficult part of this disease is watching his once fit body transform
into something he is unfamiliar with. He now has yellow eyes, no muscle tone
and speaks at a much slower rate causing him to feel disoriented most of the
time.
"My body
just feels dead, I have no arms left, I have hardly any legs there's just
nothing there."
Rod said he
knows the reality of the situation. if he doesn't get a liver. He said if he
does it would mean the world.
"I want to
be out there playing ball, working on vehicles, visiting with my mom, having barbecues
and all that good stuff that a normal person gets to have."
The average
liver transplant cost half a million dollars. Which is a huge price tag that
most don't have lying around. If you would like to help the Gilbert family, you
can support them at Freedom Bowling Lanes in Duncan, Monday night. It will be $25 a ticket
and all proceeds will go to Rod's account with the National Foundation of Transplants.
The foundation
is a non-profit organization that helps patients like Rod raise funds to pay
for transplant related expenses. Currently there are 15,982 Americans needing a
liver transplant
