In Memory of Jason Gooley Fundraiser

Hi, my name is Jayne Drul and I am Tracy Gooley's sister-in-law. On November 9, 2023, Jason Gooley suddenly passed away from cardiac arrest at St. Boniface Hospital.

Jason had a medically rough life. He was diagnosed with Lupus, an auto immune disease that attacked his kidneys. In 1995, Jason had a kidney transplant, where he began living life by taking many medications including anti-rejection medications.

In 2003, Jason met the love of his life, Tracy Drul, and on February 14th, Jason and Tracy had their first date and that was the beginning of their love story. They were married in 2007.

In 2008, Jason's transplanted kidney failed and he was placed on dialysis. That began a series of medical issues. The anti-rejection medication caused tongue cancer, Jason had to undergo surgery to remove part of his tongue and have some reconstructive surgery to replace the part that was removed. The dialysis caused Jason's body to store calcium and as such, caused major blockages in his heart, that led to a quadruple bypass surgery. He had to undergo many dialysis port replacements over the last few years, due to his veins collapsing. He also underwent many procedures to put stents in his arteries due to the continuous calcium build up from the years of dialysis treatment, he also had a hip replacement...the list goes on. This resulted in Jason being unable to work at many points over the past 15 years.

Jason was a husband, son, brother, uncle and friend, which he took great pride in all those titles. He was a drummer, a WWE fan, a car enthusiast, a hard worker and a fighter. He had to fight every day to wake up each morning, go to work and then, three times a week, undergo dialysis treatments, after work until late at night.

There were many times when Jason was not able to work due to his health. His health also left him unable to obtain life insurance, including mortgage insurance. Tracy and Jason would still hold their heads high and not dwell on the hard times, but enjoy their time together. They wouldn't ask for help, they found a way to make it work, I am not sure how, but they did.

When Jason came home from work, two weeks prior to his passing, he had a heart attack. He was transported to HSC where they ran a battery of tests. Many doctors were consulted and they were unable to perform any procedures on the arteries that were once again blocked. He ended up in the ACCU at St. Boniface where they closely monitored him and again run multiple tests. The doctors held out hope that he may be a candidate for a heart transplant, he underwent another series of tests. He was started to actually feel better and had been walking the hall! Two days later, while watching the Jets game with Tracy, in his hospital bed, he suffered a major cardiac arrest. After 20 minutes, they were able to bring back a heart beat, but Tracy was advised that he was likely not going to make it through the night. Tracy was on her way back into his room, when he suffered another cardiac event, to which they were unable to save him. Tracy was by his side at his last breath.

Without having any insurance policies, Tracy has been left to deal with all finances on her own. This is going to be a struggle for the first while, until she is able to get back on her feet.

To this end, I am appealing to your generous hearts to donate any amount you are able. Perhaps you wish to do this in lieu of flowers. The funds will be used to alleviate the financial pressures Tracy is facing. For those of you that knew Jason, knew he would want to ensure that Tracy wasn't left with any financial burdens from his passing. Any amount is greatly appreciated and will be an enormous help. Thank you in advance for your support.