Happy Mother's Day!

We couldn't think of a more deserving person to wish a Happy Mother's Day to than our own Erika Goudreau. On December 5th 2016, Erika donated one of her kidneys to her son Tyhlar.

Erika has been employed at the Connors Agency for over 8 years. Her son Tyhlar is 13 years old and is in 8th grade at Mechanicville middle school. Tyhlar was diagnosed with kidney disease when he was a baby and has had to wait until he was old enough before he could receive a transplant. Fortunately his mom was a perfect match! The surgery was a success and both patients are recuperating nicely. Erika was out of work for 6 weeks. Tyhlar will have to take immunosuppression medications for the rest of his life to help prevent transplant rejection. He will also have to be careful of infections.

Tyhlar is very active in sports at school playing football and basketball. Unfortunately, his doctors have told him that his football days are over for good, due to the risk of injury. But once he is fully recovered, he will be back on the basketball court. Tyhlar has a sister Kadynce, who has been by his side throughout the surgery and recovery. Kadynce is 10 years old and is in 5th grade at Mechanicville elementary school.

There are currently over 100,000 people in the United States on a waitlist for a kidney transplant. Each year, there are approximately 17,000 kidney transplants performed in the US. The median wait-time for a transplant is 3 ½ years. While they are on the waitlist, 13 people die every day before a life-saving kidney can be found. That adds up to almost 5,000 people dying each year before a transplant can be performed.

It's an honor for us to work with Erika on a daily basis and witness her kindness and generosity. Thank you for being you Erika! Happy Mother's Day!