Most of us take the proper working of our kidneys for granted, but there are those who can’t, they have damaged kidneys that no longer function properly and some of them are in need of a kidney transplant immediately. One of these is 24-year-old Tucker Gordner.

Tucker lives in Montgomery with his mom and stepdad, Tammy and Brad Rupert, his sister, Timberly Gordner, 22, and three brothers, Kyle Rupert who is 17, and two 16-year-old brothers, Robbie and Brady Rupert. He also has two older brothers, Shareef and Lamont Rupert who are currently attending FullSail University in Florida.

His parents found out that Tucker’s kidneys were failing when he was 14, during a physical for Boy Scouts. His physical was on a Monday afternoon, and the doctor that conducted the physical contacted them Tuesday morning to tell them that the blood work showed a problem with Tucker’s kidney function. It was at the first appointment at Geisinger that his mother was told that Tucker’s kidneys were failing and that he would eventually need dialysis or a kidney transplant. She was devastated. It took her awhile to be able to talk to him about it. Tucker’s plan after graduating was to join the United States Air Force like his older brothers, Shareef and Lamont. She said it was heartbreaking to have to tell him that the military was no longer an option he had. It was also difficult to tell his father who was currently serving overseas and wasn’t able to be with us during this time.

Because of the diagnosis, Tucker was no longer medically permitted to play baseball or football — something he had done since being age eligible. He did wrestle one more year although he was extremely anemic at the time.

Tucker’s kidneys held out for a year and a half before they were told he would need the transplant. Thankfully both his father and his mother both were a match! After much discussion, it was decided that his father would be the donor, and on December 10, 2010, Nevin Gordner, Tucker’s father who had just recently come home from Iraq, donated his kidney. Tucker did very well with the surgery and recovery.

Unfortunately, within a month, he developed a virus that began to attack the newly transplanted kidney, and Tucker was hospitalized again. Through all of this, Tucker remained his calm self, which helps gives his parents the strength they needed to be there for him and their other kids.

Despite all his health challenges, Tucker completed the requirements and became an Eagle Scout in October 2011. He graduated from Montgomery High School in 2012.

After graduation, Tucker worked full time at Andritz in Muncy until September of 2014 when his hemoglobin became too low for full-time work. He then worked half days until March 2015 when he had to start dialysis. Tucker is hooked up to his dialysis machine nine hours a night, seven days a week. He also does a ‘manual exchange’ in the afternoon in order to keep his body functioning as if it had working kidneys.

Since starting dialysis, Tucker enrolled and completed the Welding Program at Triangle Tech, graduating in February 2017. He currently has three welding certifications.

A typical week for Tucker is a trip to the Geisinger lab in Montoursville for blood work, daily oral medications, nine hours daily of being hooked up to his dialysis machine, and a ‘manual exchange’ of peritoneal fluid sometimes every afternoon which takes 30-45 minutes. He may or may not have a phone call from Geisinger having him report directly to the ER for dangerously low hemoglobin levels.

Despite being chronically anemic and ‘tethered closely’ to home, Tucker stays active. He is a member of Grace Baptist Church in Muncy where he plays volleyball and basketball on a weekly basis

According to his mother, “His girlfriend, now fiancee, Paige Frantz of Montoursville has been incredible.” Spending time with Tucker while he does his dialysis and being the one to make sacrifices to be with him during hospital stays and going along to doctors’ visits to know what to expect when they are married are truly endeared her to them.

“As parents, we want the best for our children. We want them to have a good start in life and to be there to help them succeed. It’s no different with Tucker,” Tammy told Webb Weekly. “He just has more obstacles to overcome. We’re very proud of all that Tucker’s accomplished. To date, we have had over 100 people tested to be a match for Tucker. We started a Facebook page last year in order to try to encourage people to be tested — not just for Tucker but for the many people that are on waiting list for organ transplants. Our Facebook page is Testing for Tucker. Our prayer is that a kidney will be found soon. We would love for our son to be able to have his transplant, recover and be able to be established in his career before he and Paige’s wedding, Aug 17, 2019. Please help us in our search by sharing our Facebook page, Testing for Tucker”.

There is no doubt many people across the region who may have a similar story to Tucker. One of my friends, Ben Brigandi, sports editor at the Sun-Gazette is one of them. It has been a struggle that he and his wife, Dana and their three girls have been living with for more than a year.

I hope that this story helps demonstrate to you the value of organ donation and that it can literally mean the difference between life and death.