FERGUSON, Mo. — A first responder is doing what they rarely do, asking for help.
Retired Ferguson firefighter Michael Hackett is pleading for someone to step up and save his life.
"I'd like to spend some time with my wife and daughter. I'd like to walk my daughter down the aisle. I'd like to hold my grandbabies. There's a lot I'm still wanting to do. I need the help," he said.
Hackett called the Ferguson Fire Department Station 1 home for the past 32 years.
"We are a pretty busy fire department. I was excited to spend my entire career here. The bummer of being forced out is I watched a lot of these guys grow up," he said.
Hackett's goal was to follow in his father's footsteps and serve his community for 35 years, but on Feb. 19, 2023, he had to hang up his uniform for good.
"In a million years I never would've guessed this is what was going to take me down," he said.
About seven years ago, Hackett learned his kidneys weren't functioning as they should.
"I was just getting back from a shoulder injury. I was doing my workout downstairs in our gym and the first eight minutes of every workout was a hard treadmill walk and I got about halfway there, and I couldn’t move my legs anymore, they were like tree trunks," he said.
Despite the lifestyle and diet changes, Hackett is now in stage-four renal failure, which means he needs a new kidney desperately.
"[My doctor] said, 'Yep you’re going to Barnes, you need a kidney.' It was a bad day. A lot of things go through your head, it was a tough day," he said.
Hackett said to make it even tougher, he has type B blood, which isn't the most common.
"There’s just not a long list of people in the B blood type in the Midwest," he said.
That meant it was time for Hackett to do something he isn't used to doing.
"The problem I have is that I don’t ask for help. I just don’t. I don’t know a fireman on the planet that does. We don’t, it’s not what we do. We’d rather help you, we’re there for you no matter what and we’ll sacrifice ourselves for you. We’re not going to turn around and ask you to help us. We just don’t do it, it’s not in us," he said.
That's when Laura Bockhorst stepped in to help and started sharing Hackett's story, since she knows him personally.
"Mike is a very service-minded individual and he’s very selfless. Mike really puts community first and he loves the brotherhood and the fire department, and he thinks of his crew. If any of you know first responders they do not ask for help. Their job is to help others, so them asking for help is really unlikely," she said.
Bockhorst added that is really near and dear to her, as well, because her family has gone through kidney disease themselves.
"This is really overlooked, I think. People don’t realize how hard it is to live with kidney disease and it’s incredibly hard to find a donor," she said.
After hearing Hackett's story, a woman from Pennsylvania reached out to Bockhorst on Facebook about her husband's need for a kidney.
"We have a really amazing opportunity right now. I don’t believe in coincidences; I believe in things happen for a reason," Bockhorst said.
That woman shared how they have someone ready to donate that matches Hackett's blood type, now they're hoping to find someone with type O blood to match her husband's.
If they found that, according to Bockhorst, they could do what's called a "paired exchange."
"We could save two lives, instead of one, which is amazing. I believe God has his hand in this and we will get that done," she said.
Getting it done for a man, who has spent over half of his lifetime, risking his life for others, but now, he needs is own hero.
"We know it’s a huge ask and there’s a lot of 'what ifs' like what if my child needs a kidney later and now, I only have one, but we can’t live on 'what ifs.' I mean, they don’t live on 'what ifs', they go to that call, and they help, and they respond. They come to you, so I’m asking everybody to be a hero, drop the 'what ifs' and just know you can live a long, healthy life with one kidney," Bockhorst said.
"I would appreciate the help. I’m only 57. I’m not that old. We just need to get the awareness out. People don’t know how easy it is to save a life. I know it's a big ask, but I appreciate it," Hackett said.
If you want to help and see if you're eligible, you can call Barnes Jewish Hospital screening line at 314-362-5365 and pick 'option 4.'
Then you will go through screening questions and if you meet the criteria, you will get sent a donor packet.
Once you complete that process, you will then have to get some lab work done and you'll be pre-screened for any type of cancer.
If you meet all the right criteria, you will be eligible to donate your kidney.
According to Bockhorst, if you donate a kidney, all of it is covered by the recipient's insurance, so it is no cost to you.
She added that if you are able to donate to Hackett, their community will take care of you.
"This community in Ferguson, we will take care of you, so we will do fundraisers, we will do anything we need to do to help you with any lost wages you might accrue," she said.