Bad Guys Doing Good – Melvin Woods

When Josh Beale posted to Facebook back in February 2021, it was a shot in the dark. Josh’s sixteen-year-old son, Drew, has dealt with a host of medical issues for years, and his most recent one was mountainous. Drew needed a kidney transplant. I’ll restate for clarity: Drew’s kidney was only functioning at 18% capacity and was in desperate need of a kidney. Sadly, nobody in Josh and Drew’s family was a match.

In hopes of finding a suitable (and willing) donor, Josh made a Facebook post and asked that his plea be shared. That post was shared endless times across social media. One of the people who read that post was Melvin Woods, who is also a father to a boy around the same age as Drew, no less. Melvin’s heart sank. He considered the weight of the struggles of Josh, Drew and their family and thought to himself “I wonder if I’m a match?”. Months of testing, prodding, poking, and needles went by, and in the end, Melvin’s question was answered: he was a 100% match. Drew has a donor.

That brings us to current day. The ‘Nationwide Children’s Transplant Team’ will meet December 11th, get the final go-ahead, and schedule a date for the dual surgeries. Once completed, both Drew and Melvin will recover at the hospital and at their respective homes.

This is where we come in.

Melvin will be out of work for some time after the surgery, and as such, he’ll be unable to pay his bills and living expenses. Melvin’s act of stepping up and taking action is selfless, heartwarming, and beyond words. I ask that each of you donate with your heart and help support and recognize Melvin for his amazing, courageous effort and his commitment to making the world a better place.

Signed,

Joey Nelson

Picture above: Josh and his son Drew.