COLLIER COUNTY, Fla., - A Collier County firefighter needs your help.
Douglas Holden, 29, is a firefighter paramedic with Greater Naples Fire Rescue.
“I became a firefighter because when I was sick as a kid, they came to help me,” Holden said. “Maybe I can help someone else that’s in the same situation.”
He recounts having frequent visits to the hospital as a kid while doctors tried to figure out why he got sick so often.
Doctors eventually determined Holden has Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease.
He needed a kidney transplant at age 12 which his dad donated to him. But 17 years later, the donated kidney is now failing.
Holden has spent the last week at Gulf Coast Medical Center where doctors tell him he’ll need another kidney donor soon.
He’s hoping someone with a good kidney and a generous heart will answer this call to potentially save his life.
“It would mean life. More freedom. Not having to be on dialysis. I can get back to work. I can get back to normal life, being a firefighter again,” Holden said.
If you’d like to be tested to see if you’re a donor match for Holden, you can register with Tampa General Hospital either by contacting the Living Donor Program at 813-844-5669 or by filling out the questionnaire at tgh.org/livingdonorform
You will need the following information: Recipient is Doug Holden, DOB 7/19/88.
Holden also has a GoFundMe page.
