By Amanda Wilkinson
The Elkhart Truth
MISHAWAKA, Ind. — Lane Gaby likes to help people.
For more than two decades, he has done just that — first by serving in the U.S. Air Force for a decade and then by working as a corrections officer with the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department for 11 years. Helping others is what he does, which is why it is so hard to ask others to help him.
Gaby is in end-stage renal failure, meaning his kidneys no longer remove waste and water from his body. He has suffered two strokes and diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition in which severely high blood sugar levels can result in diabetic coma or death, since his initial Stage 4 chronic kidney disease diagnosis in 2015.
He currently is seventh on a national dual-transplant list for a pancreas and kidney. Gaby has been on , a procedure that hooks him up to a machine that works as his kidneys, three times a week since his hospital stay in November for his severe diabetic condition.
Ways to help: The Gaby family set up a for online monetary donations. Donations also can be given at any Wells Fargo Bank to Lane’s Medical Donation account. If anyone would like to see if they are a match to donate a kidney, they can call Indiana University Health in Indianapolis at 317-944-0140 and ask to be tested for Lane Gaby.
The family finally decided to ask for help from the public since Gaby is unable to work because of his condition. Several hospital stays, medications, lab work and dialysis have created a huge financial burden, the family said.
The Gabys also had to wait six months until disability came through to help with some of the bills. But for the most part, they are broke.
“It’s easily gone over $30,000 right now. We depleted our entire savings,” Gaby’s wife, Lisa, said about the medical expenses.
They struggle to pay bills they receive in the mail and hope to relieve some of that financial burden through fundraising. The family set up a , Lane’s Pancreas & Kidney Transplant, in hopes of raising $50,000 to help pay for the dual transplant. The goal is low, considering they know the cost will be much higher.
They did not factor in the cost of aftercare, which includes three checkups a week with specialists for six weeks in Indianapolis, Lane’s sister, Lois Woods, said.
The family so far has received more than $7,500 in donations, about 15 percent of the goal. The family can see many of their friends and friends in the police and military community have donated. But what surprised them was seeing names they didn’t recognize.
“It’s amazing. We don’t even know some of these people. The person that donated $1,000 works with Lane’s sister,” Woods said.
People in the family’s life have given more than money. Many police friends, friends of friends and fellow veterans have stopped by the Gabys’ Mishawaka home after hearing his story to help shovel the sidewalk or even take Lane to dialysis.
“Of course, when you ever work at the Sheriff’s Department, you’re like family, and many employees are seeking ways to help a fellow co-worker in need,” Elkhart County SheriffBrad Rogers said.
And they will take any help that anyone is willing to give, Lisa said, because it takes herself, Woods and Lane’s mother, Donna Keck, to take care of him. They make sure someone is with him at all times because a medical emergency can happen at a moment’s notice.
“What we’ve learned as a family is it takes all of us. Not one of us can do this. It takes all of us,” Lisa said.
While he waits for his transplant, Lane is working on completing small goals such as getting his strength and mobility back after two strokes that affected his memory and ability to walk. Simple tasks such as walking, using an exercise bike and even making the bed aid in rehabilitation.
But Lane’s main goal after getting the transplant is to get back to work by late June at the Sheriff’s Department.
Rogers has told Lane that his parking space is still available when he’s ready to come back, Woods said.
“’If you can’t come back on the floor right away, we’ll put you to work at a desk,’” Woods said her brother was told. “They just want him back, and so does he.”
Lane’s family agreed that sitting at home and not working has been hard on him.
“That’s been the hardest on him ’cause he’s not one to sit. This has really been tough on him, very tough. He misses his job terribly,” Woods said.
And it’s not just the job. Lane said he misses the camaraderie that comes with working at the Sheriff’s Department. His life changed so quickly from working and being active to being at home all day. He also went from only taking insulin to taking a basketful of medications, Lisa said.
“It has been a stop on my life. Everything changed overnight. It’s not just hard on me, it’s hard on my wife, my sister, my mom,” Lane said.
The one good thing that has come from Lane’s desperate financial and medical situation is learning he has touched so many people’s lives.
“Even as far as inmates wanting to know how Officer Gaby is,” Woods said. “It’s been awesome for him to realize how many people’s lives he’s changed.”
Copyright 2016 The Elkhart Truth