Handy man  seeking a miracle

You’ve probably seen Air Force veteran Tim Gregory around town. 

“Hire a Veteran Handy Man Service” is his business, and he also used to work at Home Depot. His smile helps get him through the day, but underneath there’s a lot worry—Tim needs a new kidney.

He currently takes dialysis three times a week, but as his kidneys weaken, his treatments will have to be increased.

His story as a veteran is typical. “When I got out [of the Air Force] I was an E6, a Technical Sergeant…in the 1970s, for almost five years. I came home in ‘79 and got out in ’81,” Tim said. He tried numerous professions, including selling real estate, and also did repair and calibration of electronic equipment, same as he did in the Air Force. 

“I also taught electronics, and finally retired from Hewlett-Packard. After I retired from Packard, I moved here [to Dripping], and did sales as a Microsoft contractor and worked at Home Depot. I always had two jobs, always did something else,” he said. Now, for a man always on the move, dealing with a failing kidney, he has been forced to slow down and you can sense his frustration.

Two Air Force related accidents are attributed as contributing factors to his kidney’s failing health.

First, his job calibrating equipment took him on assignment in remote areas. During an assignment he severely hurt his back, was placed in traction, and was treated with heavy doses of ibuprofen. 

Second, when he returned to duty, he suffered through an industrial accident. He was bathed in mercury from a hug-exploding thermometer. “The hospital didn’t react to the hazmat. They didn’t put it in the record,” Tim said. 

A couple of years after separation, he tried to re-up to re-up in the Air Force, but his physical revealed some troubling issues. “I tried to get in the reserves in 1983, but when I went to get a physical, they told me ’you have blood in your urine, go get it cured, go to the doctor. It’s not that serious,’-- the doctor said. But I was rejected by the reserves.” The doctor then sent him to a specialist. He asked the specialist what was wrong, he said, “‘I don’t get to see people with only 10% kidney function.” 

There is a positive though, through all the negatives of Tim’s current situation.

“The upside is the VA is paying 100% as a VA participant. The downside, there’s no compensation except for travel pay.” Tim goes to dialysis three times a week for four hours each time. Soon it will be more times, but fewer hours on home dialysis.

Tim is on the VA waiting list for a new kidney, but with eight to ten thousand on the cadaver donor list before him, he has reason for concern. His hope then is to find a live donor with a match. “People don’t realize you have two kidneys and only need one to function,” Tim said. So he has put the  word out about his need through the veteran pipeline and area veteran groups.

There’s also another reason to get his story out. “Education, I want people to understand more about kidney transplants,” Tim said.

Aside from the hope of finding a kidney donor, Tim has another reason for keeping a smile on his face. “Eight years ago I made a promise to my granddaughter to see her graduate from high school,” Tim said. “She’s nine. I have nine more years. Hopefully I’ll have a kidney by then.

For more information on kidney transplants visit:

National Kidney Foundation kidney.org/transplantation and va.gov/health/services/transplant/

Tim can be contacted at:

Tim Gregory, President/CEO

TKP Consulting, LLC

dba Hire-A-Veteran Handyman Service
480-258-3409