Nearly 100 Celebrities Lift Up Syracuse Man on Dialysis

Dozens of actors, singers, comedians and even famous authors are coming together to lift up a central New York man going through dialysis.

Steven Alexander of Syracuse has been on dialysis for years. Something he does three times a week, for four hours at a time. To keep himself busy, he plays a game on Twitter each week to see if he can get someone famous to say hi. "I started doing it a couple of month ago as a joke and a way to pass the time," says Steven. "I usually just ended up talking to my friends."

This week Steven's 'game' went viral after nearly 100 famous people played along, including Travis Tritt and the Bellamy Brothers from the country music community, actors Mark Hamill, Drew Carey, Jon Cryer and Kristen Bell and the biggest thrill for Steven....author Steven King. "I've read all his books ever since I was a teenager so that's 30 years of admiration. That was pretty huge."

The one that blew his kids away was Larry the Cable Guy. "My kids are big fans of the movie Cars so when they woke up I said 'kids Mater said hi to me this morning.' They freaked out. I was a hero."

Larry the Cable Guy

The county community reached out to show their support for Steven. "Travis Tritt said hi. I mean c'mon. Travis Tritt. He's a legend. And the Bellamy Brothers. As soon as I saw that I had to listen to 'Let Your Love Shine'."

Travis Tritt

The Bellamy Brothers

Kristen Bell

Luke Skywalker Mark Hamill

Bonnie Hunt

Drew Carey

Jon Cryer

Steve and his family are no strangers to going viral. His wife is the Angry Splash Mountain Lady, who went viral in 2016 for her picture on the Disney ride.

Take a look a the growing list Steve has put together of all the celebrities who've said hi so far, making "it a good dialysis day," Steve wrote on twitter.

Steve is on dialysis after his third transplanted kidney started failing. In addition, testing showed he has lupus, an auto-immune disease where his immune system produces an excess of antibodies that attach themselves to his kidneys, causing inflammation, pain and eventually, destroyed the organ completely.

The diagnosis was been a mixed blessing. On one hand, doctors were able to manage lupus (although there's no cure) in a way his kidney won't deteriorate anymore. On the other hand, the diagnosis was too late to save his kidney and Steven needs a fourth transplant. "I'm on the list for a new kidney and I could get a call. But the last time I was on the list I was on it for five years."

A Go Fund Me campaign has been set up to help Steve pay for his kidney transplant and cover dialysis costs that run about $1200 a month. "I've really been fortunate to have a great group of friends who've stepped up to help out. But it's funny, you take two steps forward and then you get one step back."

We pray Steve finds the kidney he desperately needs. In the words of Mark Hamill, who also responded to Steven's tweet....May the force be with you! "That one really tickled the inner child in me."