ICE HOCKEY, A NEW KIDNEY, TRUE GRIT, & GOING BALD This is a hockey story, this is a medical story, this is a story about the human spirit, and a story about going bald.Philip Marshall Taylor started watching the Carolina Hurricanes when he was 5 years old, pretended to be a goalie on the living room floor, and learned to skate before he was 6. He playing goalie on youth teams in Raleigh. He was always smaller and had less stamina than his teammates but no one knew why. In August 2005, he found out why he was the smallest and slowest on his team. He was diagnosed with ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease) and would need a kidney transplant or eventually have to go on dialysis. He feared that his hockey playing days were over. With the approval of his doctors and some true grit, he kept on playing. His success in goal was limited. Many did not realize how much his blood chemistry slowed him down. The way you feel after that big Thanksgiving meal, when you just want to take a nap, was how he felt every waking hour, 365 days a year. While playing on many losing teams and being labeled as a poor goalie, Marshall never gave up his dream. He loved hockey and he loved the challenge of playing in goal. As a Pee Wee, his coach put him in goal against the regular season champions. Marshall's Pee Wee team won the Canes Cup Championship Game 4 to 2. His kidney transplant operation was at the University Of Michigan Hospital in September 2010. Several members of the U of M NCAA Hockey Team came by his room to give him gifts and to wish him well. With his doctors' approval and some more grit, he was back on the ice five months after his kidney transplant and playing goalie. In July 2013, he returned to the University of Michigan. This time when he went north, it was not to get medical treatment but to attend the famous Red Berenson Summer Hockey Camp. The Blue Team, with Marshall in goal, defeated the White Team in the end-of-camp game 6 to 5. Another dream had come true; he was competing in goal, on the ice at the famous Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Marshall still plays goalie and occasionally skates out, now in a U18 house league. It's not the NHL but it's nevertheless a true miracle. He always struggles to keep up on the ice and to stop those blazing fast, hard pucks. Off the ice, he drinks 4 liters of liquid a day, takes 6 meds twice a day, gets a monthly shot, has frequent blood draws, and goes to numerous doctor visits. His true grit, his love of hockey, and a firm belief that kids with medical issues should never give up their dreams keep him on the ice and in the goal. Marshall never complains about his situation and always tries to help others who struggle with medical issues. The last four years, he has shaved his head for the St. Baldrick's Foundation to help cure childhood cancer. Calling on family, friends, and hockey fans for donations he has raised over $4000 in four years. Again, this year he will go bald for St. Baldrick’s. Support Marshall’s effort to help cure childhood cancer!