An Air Force veteran with disabilities is one step closer to getting a kidney transplant this holiday season thanks to help from News 12 Connecticut.

Martin Goodrich, 58, served in Texas, Korea, the United Kingdom and even at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, after coming to the U.S. from Jamaica without a penny in his pocket at the age of 17.

But Goodrich's wife is worried this Thanksgiving about possibly losing him because he has stage 4 kidney failure and needs a transplant.

Because he has a rare blood type, O-positive, the only match doctors can find is his 24-year-old daughter Nicole.

But Nicole lives in Jamaica and Goodrich says she has not been able to get a visa due to restrictive immigration policies put in place over the past few years.

But Sen. Richard Blumenthal says it could be easier under the next administration to get a humanitarian visa for emergency medical reasons.

"This man is a veteran. He served and sacrificed for his country and he needs a kidney to survive. I'm going to be fighting to enable his daughter to come to this country so Martin can have the kidney he needs to survive," Blumenthal says.

"I'm feeling good. I'm happy," Goodrich says, who adds that he's deeply grateful this Thanksgiving for everybody who's helping him, including his daughter.

"I'm thankful that she reached out and she's going to give me one of hers to save my life," Goodrich says.

The proud veteran says he's achieved the American dream of home ownership and is now hopeful that he can live out his life at home for many years to come.

Goodrich says if his daughter's granted a humanitarian visa, he'll be on track to receive a new kidney this spring.