A life-changing diagnosis for a Long Island family now has them searching for help.

Bill Moritz and his wife Madeline Moritz are in the battle of their lives. Bill Moritz needs a new kidney, and his wife was recently diagnosed with leukemia.

In March of 2020, Bill Moritz was diagnosed with renal kidney failure. He was diagnosed with kidney disease 10 years ago and was being closely monitored, but the disease became unmanageable at that time.

“My kidney levels dropped to such a level where it became apparent that I was going to need some type of help, a transplant,” he says.

If the stresses of life weren’t enough, his wife Madeline Mortiz was thrust into the front lines of the pandemic working as a nursing home administrator at work and now at home.

“Your adrenaline kicks in and you just find a way to figure it out. And it doesn’t last forever and we got through it, and he did great, he never got COVID,” Madeline Mortiz says.

“Without Madeline…I don't even think that I would be here,” says Bill Mortiz.

During this time, Madeline Mortiz got screened to see if she could be a match donor for her husband. It turned out she was.

However, after a routine doctor’s visit this May, the couple was blindsided when Madeline Moritz was diagnosed with cancer. Her blood work showed that her white blood cells were off and her doctor diagnosed her with leukemia.

Bill Moritz is in need of a kidney and Madeline Moritz needs a stem cell transplant.

After eight long weeks of chemotherapy, Madeline Moritz is back home and spends time in her favorite place, her garden.

The couple, who have known each other since their high school years, have three children, and are lifelong Long Islanders, are asking anyone who may be able to help to come forward.

“Now we’re just here, like I said, just looking for a living donor,” says Madeline Moritz.

If you’d like to help the couple you can go to their GoFundMe page or Instagram account that their friends have set up for them.