Woman Needs Kidney Transplant, Thanks Community: 'I Am Humbled'

GREENPORT, NY — The North Fork community is rallying in a big way to help one of their own facing a health challenge.

Nicki Gohorel, 38, is a familiar face around Greenport: Not only is she a manager at the Greenporter Hotel, she gives back to neighbors in need through Community Action of Southold Town and serves on the Greenport Business Improvement District.

But now, this vibrant, giving woman has found herself facing health issues — her only remaining kidney failed. She is currently undergoing at-home dialysis and is in need of a donor.

A GoFundMe page, "Friends for Nicki's Health and Healing," was created by Abra Morawiec of Southold.

"Our dear friend Nicki Gohorel is in need of our support," Morawiec wrote. "If you live, work, or play here on the North Fork, you've undoubtedly crossed paths with her. Nicki's passion for people runs deep in our community and through her work brings attention to those that need help the most. She possesses a tireless resolve; she's quick to lend a hand; and she is one of the best people from whom to seek advice. Anyone reading this, who knows Nicki personally, can attest to her endless generosity. It is a distinct privilege to know and call this woman a close friend."

Recently, Morawiec said, Gohorel, who grew up in East Marion and who lives in Greenport, experienced the unexpected failure of her only kidney. Dialysis, she said, is "costly, time-consuming, and energy-sapping. Because of this, Nicki is also in need of a kidney donor."

Gohorel needs help with medical bills and with her quest to find a donor, Morawiec said.

"Nicki has time and again put herself out there for her family, friends, and community. We need folks like her now more than ever. Thank you to any and all who chip in," she said.

Gohorel said her remaining kidney, which had been working fine and doing the work of two kidneys, started to fail and is now not functioning at all.

Because she is such a young woman, Gohorel said for years, she felt "indestructible." And, over the past year, although she hadn't been feeling well, the pandemic, coupled with her mother's health challenges, made addressing her own health needs something she put on the proverbial back burner.

"You just keep going, and you keep going through it — until you don't," she said.

Although Gohorel said she has plans to meet a potential living donor at the end of the month to see if she is compatible, nothing is yet certain.

But despite the challenges, Gohorel remains upbeat. "In general, I'm an optimistic person and I try to see the positive." When she was hospitalized recently, Gohorel said she saw many who were undergoing harrowing journeys, some of whom were facing them alone.

She is blessed to have her husband Selcuk by her side, she said.

And, even though she knows her situation is serious, Gohorel's first instinct in the hospital was that she wanted to help — because she's lived her life helping others.

"It's very hard for me. I fix the things that are broken. I'm not used to being the thing that's broken, that needs to be fixed," she said.

One thing she's learned from her current crisis is that young people should not ignore their own health. "Self-care is important," she said.

And to the many who have reached out to help her in her time of great need, Gohorel said: "I have been overwhelmed and humbled," she said. Friends brought food to her husband when she was hospitalized and have reached out with donations and caring words. "I'm really grateful."

To donate, click here.

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