A couple of former Hawkeye football players took to the field in the Super bowl. While they fought on the field, one former Hawkeye player is fighting for his life.

“It was always my dream to get a scholarship and play football in college,” says Jory Helms.

Jory helms made it happen, the former defensive end for the Hawkeyes is tough, he's had his fair share of hits.
“It's a position that doesn't get a lot of recognition, or glory but its a lot of fun,” says Helms.

But the fight on the field is nothing compared to the fight he's battling now.
When Helms was 24-years-old he went into the hospital for a sinus infection and came out knowing he had a potentially deadly disease.

“Playing football, working out, staying in shape, being active, I thought I could avoid this, but it caught up to me anyway,” says Helms.

His kidneys are failing, working at about 2 percent of capacity.
Helms goes to dialysis three days a week for 4 hours.
“This is all in an effort to keep me alive,” says Helms.

Dialysis keeps his kidneys running until he can find a donor.

“It's a waiting game and hopefully when your name comes up, everything works out,” says Helms.

“I happen to have one of the rarest types of blood, o negative blood,” says Helms.

Rare, and hard to find a match, except in his family.

Jory's father had the same disease and the same blood type; he died when Jory was a sophomore in college.

Jory tried to help his dad, he even offered to donate his own kidney, but his father would not let him.

“I don't want you to donate because I would hate if something happened and you needed a kidney….maybe he had some foresight,” says Helms.

Or maybe a blessing in disguise.
Jory is taking what he learned from his father's death to try to prevent his own, Jory is using a powerful resource to find a donor…facebook.
Every day Jory receives words of encouragement.

“Let me know that I am not alone in this,” says Helms.
“To respond to adversity when things are not looking the greatest and you come out of it,” says Helms.
“It takes a strong person, a strong will to stand up and say it happened, it is what it is, I have to live with it, I'm not going to let it control my life,” says Helms.

Jory started his facebook page 7 months ago, so far he has close to 400 friends on that page and it grows by the day


If you would like to learn more about becoming a possible donor, you should consult with your doctor. You can also contact the University of Iowa Hospitals to get information.

Former Hawkeye Football Player Fighting for his Life, Needs a Kidney Transplant