This campaign is now closed.
My husband, Gail Cogdill, is a retired NFL Player who played 11 years for Detroit. As a result of the bumps and bruises, and his genetics he has been battling congestive heart failure. His heart is at only 18%, even after a 6 way bypass and he continues to get weaker.
Point is, he needs a new heart. However, the medical field denies him of this due to his age (75). The best they can do is maybe a mechanical heart which maybe will give him 5 years. Maybe isn't a good enough answer for Gail, or myself, or his children. Our family and friends have done a lot of research and a lot of praying and we have found out about adult stem cells. They are taken from his own blood, then the stem cells are harvested from his blood and then put back into his heart. The success of this procedure is good, actually better than that. After speaking to several couples that have gone through exactly the same as us, our belief is that this is the better road for Gail. Yet our insurance does not acknowledge it as a valid procedure. The only specialist that use this treatment are in Mexico or Europe. Although this is what we so desperately want, we have exhausted all of our funds.
Gail has a family to live for still, things he has yet to experience, and moments in life that we need him for. To walk his youngest daughter down the isle, to see his great grandson's firsts, to travel to the places he dreams of, to live his life out with me still. There are a lot of people who love him, and if you knew him for 2 minutes I know you would feel the same. I feel that God has more in store for him. We would appreciate any help. Any at all.
Thank you, From the wife, family, and friends of the NFL Player
"http://repairstemcells.org/Community/Dons-Corner/A-Grim-Fairy-Tale.aspx"