Community steps up, tries to help Englewood man get kidney

Since WINK News introduced you to Sandy Bilsky on Monday, a dozen potential kidney donors have reached out. While this does provide him with some hope, his fight is far from over.

2021 is a year filled with promise for Sandy Bilsky. “All of a sudden I had this rush of ‘hey, this is really going to happen. I’m going to get a kidney,'” said Bilsky.

He’s a local hero who has been honored by the Coast Guard for saving three lives. Now, he needs a kidney donor to prolong his life.

“The responses were so unbelievable from your first broadcast. There were over a dozen responses,” Bilsky said.

While people were more than willing to help, some were disqualified. “Some of the people that had stepped forward we’re immediately disqualified because of one medical issue or another,” he said.

Caryn Knop has never met Sandy in person. “I never met Sandy. We communicate through phone and text messages,” Knop said.

She lives 1,300 miles away in Buffalo, New York. Caryn’s blood type makes her a good candidate. However, she needs more tests to find out if she’s a perfect match.

“You can call it a selfish move on my part because I would love to be the one to help,” Knop said.

Bilsky says he’s down to Caryn and one potential other donor. He’s planning to remain practical, yet hopeful.

“It may take me a little bit longer than I thought, but I always knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Bilsky said.

Through a tough battle, he’s praying for a sweet victory.

Bilsky is still looking for potential donors, in case his two remaining candidates happen to not work out.

To be a match, you need to have O positive or negative blood and cannot have certain disqualifying health conditions.

If you would like to help Sandy Bilsky and you believe you’re a match, you can contact him directly via Facebook or by calling him at 401-741-4927.