STATUS:
Received! Living Donor: Renewal 12/2023
Bernard Locke is a Vietnam Veteran who was drafted in 1968, went to basic training at Fort Jackson and then sent to Vietnam in 1969. Following training, he was sent to the field where he incurred damage to his back from shrapnel due to an explosion. After time to heal, they moved Bernard to civil affairs and psychological operations to help build relationships among the Vietnamese. He returned to the states in 1970 and spent his last six months in the military at Aberdeen Proving Grounds.
Following his time in the Army, Bernard’s 36-year career included selling business forms, working with the homeless, attending college to study Political Science and working with drug addicts at Coney Island Hospital in NY. He became the director of a drug rehabilitation organization focusing on prevention, worked at the NY Housing Authority, received a master's degree in public administration at NYU and retired in 2007 from the NYC Board of Education.
Bernard was a very active man until 2021 when he ended up in the ICU with breathing issues and found he was having problems with his hemoglobin. He had a bout with kidney cancer and was eventually diagnosed with Wegener’s Disease, which left him needing dialysis three days a week. Bernard is married, has a son and a daughter, and five grandchildren. His wife Sharon was tested to be a donor, but wasn't able to be cleared.
Bernard would love to get back to traveling, going on walks and being there for his family. With a new kidney, he could do just that! Bernard has enlisted the help of a Veteran's organization called DOVE Transplant which is helping in his outreach to find his life-saving kidney donor. DOVE will assist all prospective donors throughout the process and make sure they do not incur any out-of-pocket expenses related to the evaluation or surgery.
A healthy person can live a normal life with one kidney and save this Veteran's life! Please click on the link below if you would like to learn more OR call 551-449-8319.
Bernard Locke
Army Veteran
