HARTFORD --If you travel Connecticut highways you've probably seen it. A billboard of a mother looking for a kidney for her son.
For Mary Kozicki, there's nothing she wouldn't do for her 24 year-old son Austin.
"We learned when Austin was in utero that he had one kidney, and we hoped that he would have a very healthy happy life with only one kidney as many do," said Kozicki. "Unfortunately, when he was six he started to have some symptoms and after some testing we learned that in fact he did have renal disease."
For years, Austin lived with his one kidney.
Even has volunteered at a local fire department since he was 16. Riding his bike to calls, just because he wanted to help others.
After years of monitoring, this summer the Kozicki family got news they had been dreading.
Austin was now the one who needed help, he needed a new kidney. At that point he was placed on the active donor list. The only problem is a new kidney could take years.
"The average wait time in Connecticut is 5-8 years depending on the blood group. The only way to bypass that wait time is to find yourself living donor," said Caroline Rochon, MD, Surgical Director, Kidney Transplant Program, Hartford Hospital.
So Mary got to work, trying to find her son a living donor. Finding someone willing to donate is hard, finding a stranger who is match is even harder.
When someone suggested a billboard, they said it's worth a shot. Hundreds of thousands of drivers are now seeing their message every week. They're hoping just one of those drivers will be the match they need.
Mary never intended to have a billboard in fact, they hoped at some point a family member would be able to give Austin that gift.
Mary's husband lost his battle with cancer.
For years, her younger son Josh, had planned to donate his kidney to his brother, but they found out he too had renal problems.
"The boys are very close," said Kozicki. "(Josh) had often said to his brother, you need to stay healthy until I'm 18 so I can be your donor so that was very difficult."
Finally this summer Mary herself underwent tests hoping she would be a match for her son, but again it was no.
"I think for every mom the one thing you want is that your child has every opportunity. To know that they're going to battle a chronic situation is difficult. Our life has had some unique challenges but it's has had some unique blessings," said Kozicki.
So now the family waits for that blessing.
In the meantime, they're hoping to educate as many as possible on living kidney donation.
While organ donation can sound scary, Dr. Rochon said it's actually very safe.
"If living donation might not be safe for you, we do not want your kidney. We only want one patient and that is the transplant patient. So out of 8 patients that might step up for donation, only one would pan out to proceed to donation, that is because we're really strict in who we accept,"said Dr. Rochon.
The Kozicki's have faith that match will come along, and Austin will be able to live a healthy life soon.
"Although he gets up everyday and does what he needs to do, I'm not even sure he's aware how much this impacts him. I think when we have that moment and he gets that transplant, he is going to be amazed with the difference he is going to feel," said Kozicki.
You actually don't even need to live in Connecticut, patients at Hartford hospital have received kidneys from across the country.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a match or simply just want to lean more about kidney donation, click here.