Gary Trimble has been an active man his entire life: riding motorcycles, traveling in hot air balloons and fishing Alaskan water.

All of that is over, at least for the time being.

Trimble has a failing liver, the victim of a hepatitis C viral infection first suffered over 30 years ago.

“I was told back then I would need one,” said Trimble, 63, of a liver transplant.

He was tested when, inexplicably, he was overcome with chills and shakes.

The symptoms would manifest periodically through the years. In April 2015, they came on with such ferocity that everyone knew that it was time to begin talking about a transplant.

“We’ve been in and out of Mayo” many times since then, said his wife, Denniece.

His illness also contributed to the development of diabetes and a double hernia, she said.

Today, Trimble is on the list for a transplant, the only cure for the condition.

Still, he will most likely be waiting awhile.

“My MELD number isn’t high enough to put me high on the list,” he said.

MELD is the acronym for Model for End-stage Liver Disease, and reflects a combination of factors that result in a rating. Trimble is rated with a 13 right now — whereas you must rate into the 30s in order to be considered for a transplant.

“What it means, really, is that I am just not sick enough,” he said, with a shake of his head.

“Enough,” however, is only a relative term. Denniece said the illness continues to stalk her husband and has begun to affect his work day.

He has had to leave work at Trimble’s Cycle Center early, just so he can come home to lie down.

If there is a bright spot in any of this, it is that Trimble could receive a liver transplant from a living donor. A donor can give up half of his liver and with one-half in the donor, the other half transplanted into the recipient, regeneration  of both halves will occur within a few weeks to a  few months.

It doesn’t mean that anyone wanting to donate a liver may do so. If the recipient’s make-up does not match, transplantation might be impossible. There is age (donors must be between 18 and 55 years of age) to general health to consider; blood type needs to match and body size needs to be similar. The bile ducts and donor liver also need to be within parameters. The list is extensive.

Lastly, a donor has to have the right attitude about donation, the Trimble’s said.

“It’s as if they want to talk you out of it,” Denniece said. She believes it’s a way for the doctors to know that the donor is a committed person and really wants to follow all the rules that come with transplantation.

“They have to be committed to a two-year process,” she added.

There is good news: They have two people undergoing testing to see if they could give Gary half of their liver. One is a relative, and the other, a friend.

Denniece said it would be some time before they would know if either was a match.

According to a Mayo Clinic patient education book, screening to be a potential donor is extensive. After an initial phone interview, blood tests are conducted, followed by a physical exam, more blood tests, X-rays, imaging exams (CT or MRI), heart and lung function tests, urine tests and cancer screening. Others, such as a liver biopsy, may also be ordered depending on the donor. After a final review, the donor’s status is either approved or denied.

Trimble is hoping for the best. He knows the chance of getting a living donor’s liver is far better than getting a deceased donor’s liver.

Of the approximate 16,000 livers needed for transplant, only an average of 6,000 are available annually, he said.

And so the waiting continues.

“When you’re young, you think you’re going to live forever,” mused Trimble, looking back to the time he first knew he had the disease. “Today, I get pretty tired.”

He is looking for that day when he can get back on a cycle, or cast a line in Alaska.

“I am hopeful,” he said.