31 year old David B Ferguson, Jr. (DJ), a father of two—soon to be three—children, is currently hospitalized in Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston because of a heart condition, which causes his heart and lungs to fill with blood and fluid.

DJ had been at the top of the list to get a heart transplant, but the hospital has now taken him off of the list because he is unvaccinated against COVID, according to his family. 

Ferguson says that he refuses to get the shot because it goes against his beliefs and has the potential to be fatal due to his condition.

There are cases of people diagnosed with myocarditis and pericarditis after receiving the Covid vaccine, according to the CDC. With Ferguson’s condition, these side effects can kill him.

“My son has gone to the edge of death to stick to his guns and he’s been pushed to the limit,” DJ’s father said. “I think my boy is fighting pretty damn courageously and he has integrity and principles he really believes in and that makes me respect him all the more…It’s his body. It’s his choice.”

His family is thinking of transferring him to a different hospital, but they say he may be too weak to move. 

In the meantime they have set up a fundraiser to help with expenses.