TULARE COUNTY, Calif. — Tulare County deputies are rallying to support one of their captains and his family as he receives a kidney transplant next week.

Capt. Harold Liles has been with the department for almost two decades, and this will be the first time he will be out of the office for any period of time.

His business family has created a GoFundMe fundraiser to ease the financial burden for him and his family.

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Deputy Tom Sigley said: “He was still working… he was still working. The only time he was off was when he had a doctor’s appointment.”

Although Liles’ health is in danger, his close friend Sigley says he is in good spirits.

“You know, I always joked with Harold about why you walked around with a smile on your face. This is so frustrating. You know, things aren’t always happy. ‘Oh yeah, it’s always good you know’. “There were days when he would come over… you might say you don’t feel like it or you don’t feel well, but he’s always positive and he’s always smiling and he’s just a good person,” she said.

Sigley says Liles beat kidney cancer a few years ago.

However, he says that last year his other kidney started to shut down.

He was put on the kidney transplant waiting list.

Little did Liles know at the time that she would secretly become her son Darius’ life-saving donor.

“At first they didn’t tell him who the donor was. They just said we found a match. Then I guess someone slipped or walked out or something and he was a little hesitant to let him do it.” and I’m sure they prayed as a family and found a solution,” Sigley said.

Liles is scheduled to undergo surgery on October 8 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

However, it is expected to stay in the region for 4-5 weeks for observation purposes.

Sigley says when they checked lodging prices in the area, everything was between $7,000 and $9,000 for about 6 weeks.

We thought we’d put the GoFundMe aside and see if we could help.

Liles agreed to allow the department to open the fundraiser to the public only on one condition, Sigley said. He talked about the importance of organ donation.

This shows that even though he is on the verge of a life-saving operation, he hopes for the same for others in his situation.

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“He believes so much in the Lord and his faith and would do anything for you if he could,” Sigley said.

Liles’ wife also takes time off to care for him.

His son and his wife, who donated his kidney, come from abroad for the surgery.

If you would like to help the Liles family through a fundraiser Click here to be redirected to the page.

This Sunday afternoon Visalia Scoops will host a fundraiser to raise money for Captain Liles.

The fundraiser will be held at 215 W. Main Street in Visalia from 12-5 p.m.

It says 50% of all proceeds will be donated to Captain Liles.