After spending years in and out of hospitals, Brandon Correia became an EMT to help others. Now that his health is again in jeopardy, Brandon old hockey teammates are coming to his aid to “make a save” on his behalf.

Correia, an Old Rochester Regional graduate, suffers from primary sclerosing cholangitis, a degenerative disease that results in liver failure. With his name on the National Foundation for Transplants list, and escalating medical costs, Brandon’s former hockey coaches Jay Hiller and Tim Matthews wanted to do something to help.

The pair, along with Matthews son Timmy, set up the “Making a Save for B” website and began brainstorming ways to lighten the financial burden on Brandon’s family.

“Tim’s got a great line, ‘Once a teammate, always a teammate. Hockey’s a really small community,” said Hiller. “When something like this happens to somebody you know, you try to stop and help them.”

Hiller was Brandon’s coach when the now 23-year-old first got sick.

At age 14, the young goalie and former Rochester resident was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, which later developed into PSC.

While Brandon was able to lead a fairly normal life, the disease began to progress more rapidly in the past year. With symptoms including flareups, memory loss, confusion, and a lack of concentration, Brandon has had a difficult year.

“It’s definitely up and down,” said Brandon, now a resident of New Bedford. “I have my good days and my bad days. Bad days are really bad. Good days, I just try to make the best of them.”

Frequent trips to the hospital forced him to quit his job, and when his mother, Zelia, a sleep technician, lost her job, it became more challenging to pay for medication and hospital visits to Boston. In November, he was put on the national donor list.

“The cost of his medication is crazy,” said Zelia. “Even the co-pays when I had insurance – it was what we were spending money on all the time.”

Without insurance, Zelia also had to stop tests to see if she could be a donor for her son.

Zelia recently began a new job and with health benefits scheduled to kick in soon, she hopes testing will resume, but finances will still be tight.

“Tim and I just started throwing ideas around,” said Hiller. “There are a lot of health expenses. We’re trying to make up some of that money so he can focus on getting well.”

Hiller and Matthews, along with Matthews’ son Timmy are planning a hockey alumni game with members of Brandon’s youth and high school teams in a few weeks.

“It’s to boost Brandon’s spirits and raise money at the same time,” said Hiller. “I know all the kids I’ve talked to, they all want to help in some way.”

Additionally, Mike Jenkins, an ORR teacher and another former coach, is leading a basketball bracket fundraiser at the High School with all donations supporting Brandon.

So far, more than $6,000 has been donated to the National Foundation for Transplants in Brandon’s name.

For his part, Brandon is looking forward to the upcoming hockey game, and is thankful for the outpouring of support from his friends. “I never imagined people would help so much,” he said.

To donate and learn more about Brandon, visit https://sites.google.com/site/makingasaveforb.