In June of 2007, Jim Tucker received a new lease on life in the form of a heart transplant at the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson.

It came with conditions. To keep his body from rejecting his new heart, he must take drugs to suppress his immune system for the rest of his life.

And he must avoid any situation where his immune system might be compromised.

Like the coronavirus outbreak.

Tucker, who is 75 and lives in Glendale, had a bout of pneumonia three months ago and also has diabetes and kidney issues. He has sequestered himself with his wife, who has Alzheimer's disease, for the last several weeks, and until Tuesday, they were running out of food.

"Our cupboards are bare," he said."We're eating some really crazy meals for right now, and that's running out."

For dinner Monday night, they had a hot dog with no bun and "some kind of beans."

He kept trying to order online from a grocery store, but didn't have much luck.

"Last time I ordered 27 items, and I got seven," he said. "None of it was what I ordered."

Tucker has no family close by to help — they're all in California — and he was hesitant to ask friends to "go to 20 stores looking for food for us and put themselves at risk."

Several groups aid seniors and shut-ins, but some, like DuetAz.org, had waiting lists even before the outbreak. (To volunteer, call 602-274-5022). The Area Agency on Aging has a 24-hour senior care line (602-264-4357), which has been experiencing a heavy volume in recent weeks.

After a call from The Republic, the agency offered to reach out to Tucker. He's now getting the help he needs and is grateful. He urges anyone who wants to help people like him to contact the agencies above.

In the meantime, he hopes stores will impose some reasonable limits and that people will quit stripping shelves bare in their buying panic and think of others.

"These people that are hoarding food," he says, "are killing people."

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John D'Anna is a reporter on the Arizona Republic/azcentral.com storytelling team. Reach him at john.danna@arizonarepublic.com and follow him on Twitter @azgreenday.