The fate of a local man dying of congestive heart failure is in the hands of a judge.  The man can't get a transplant because he doesn't have the right insurance.

We first told you about 27-year old Eric De La Cruz Monday.  He needs a heart transplant to live, but he's on Nevada Medicaid and it won't cover it. 

But Medicare does and they denied him.  Now he's sitting in a hospital getting progressively worse.

When we first heard Eric's story we got on the phone and pressured lawmakers.

Now Eric's case will go before a judge first thing tomorrow morning.

"I have to say we've been waiting for this moment for five years and we've been pushing really hard and praying," Veronica De La Cruz says.

Five years, Veronica spent battling Medicare and Medicaid.  State Medicaid won't cover her brother, Eric's desperate need for a new heart.

While federal Medicare will, but they denied Eric.

They appealed but were told the process could take more than a year.

Veronica called Action News and tomorrow morning a judge will finally hear her case.

"He either approves his case or he doesn't.  So tomorrow is a really big day for the family," Veronica says.

Eric's story has generated hundreds of comments across the web. Complete strangers built websites supporting him. 

And on the front page of the band Nine Inch Nails' website they're selling backstage passes for upwards of $1,200 a piece.  Money to be raised to help Eric.

"I have to say the media attention to this case is most likely what brought the outcome we're looking at now.  Which is a judge is going to hear his case tomorrow, which is what we've been waiting a long time for," Veronica says.

Even if the judge approves Eric's Medicare claim, he still has a long way to go.

He's not even on a transplant list and he will  have to travel to California to get treated.

There could also be huge co-pays, up to six figures, the family will still have to cover.