Fundraiser established for longtime Inquirer staffer, Apache supporter

Gonzales High School Class of 1995 graduate Louis Decker has spent his adult life supporting his beloved Apaches, including covering their athletic exploits in the pages of the Gonzales Inquirer as sports editor and on the side recently while working as the newspaper’s advertising account executive.

However, Decker, 44, is now in the fight of his life as he is currently hospitalized at Methodist Hospital Specialty and Transplant in San Antonio and will need a liver transplant soon in order to survive.

Decker was admitted to the hospital on July 1, 2022, and is suffering from decompensated liver failure and acute kidney failure (attributed to the stress on his system from the liver failure). Issues from diabetes are to blame for his liver trouble.

Due to his illness, Decker is no longer medically able to work for the Inquirer. As such, he must take COBRA in order to continue his insurance benefits and premiums are about $800 per month. He said administrators at the hospital have told him he must show proof of coverage for a full year (through July 2023) before they will perform a transplant due to the cost.

Decker also must have a place to stay in San Antonio following the transplant so he can be near the hospital for treatment and will have to have a caretaker who can check in on him to make sure he doesn’t suffer any medical emergencies or setbacks like organ rejection.

If he is unable to meet these conditions, he will be released home to get his affairs in order for whatever remaining time he has left to live, based on their estimate. If funds cannot be used for his transplant, they will go towards end-of-life care and final arrangements. Any funds left after that would be left towards care of his cherished grandchildren.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help raise money for Decker at https://gofund.me/5a877d8d. All funds from the account go directly to Decker as the sole beneficiary of the account except for administrative costs GoFundMe implements prior to distribution.