February 2008, The PEACE Fund donates a further $10,000

In early February, The PEACE Fund was able to make another $10,000 donation to the Children's Organ Transplant Association. This brings the total of the Fund's involvement over the past three years to $40,000. This new donation will help two more children's fundraising efforts for life-saving organ donations and affiliated expenses.

Valerie Huttner Valeries, a ten-month-old child from West Columbia, South Carolina, was successfully transplanted on December 3, 2007 – another Thanksgiving/Christmas blessing! Valerie's grandmother was her partial-liver donor at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Valerie is still in the hospital with follow-up care, but continues to make great progress. Speaking with her grandmother and mom, they said they are all doing well, but are looking forward to returning home in the coming months.

 

Their volunteers began raising funds, and were able to bring in more than $4,100 since late October, but with Grandma (one of the key volunteers) becoming the donor, many of the extended family members spent more time at the hospital than in their hometown raising funds. The family has bills of more than $5,000 to this point, and can expect thousands more in the future.

Logan Bierlein-Tyler

Born on September 11, 2004, Logan was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease. He underwent a life-saving liver-kidney transplant on November 28, 2007 - quite the Thanksgiving blessing for him and his mom! Logan and his mother were at the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, for over three months following his surgery, until they returned home to Montana on February 11, 2008.

Logan's mother said they are doing well, but without a father actively in the picture, this family is living on less than $700 from Social Security, as Logan's mother cannot go back to work until Logan resumes eating without a feeding tube, and that may take several more weeks…or months. The family has had a difficult time raising funds - at the time Logan and his mom went to Salt Lake City for the surgery, only $2,150 had been raised toward the $30,000 cost of the operation. The donation from The PEACE Fund will provide a significant jump in fundraising for Logan, his mother, and the volunteers working on their behalf.

Easton Blanchard

Easton is still awaiting his life-saving small bowel transplant at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. His volunteers did not get off to a good start until December (they began in September), but they have come on strong and have nearly met his goal of $35,000 following a couple of successful events in February and March.

Joshua Ray

Joshua is a 18-month-old baby from Smithfield, North Carolina who had his life-saving liver transplant at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina on September 10, 2007. His volunteers have stepped up again and have now raised more than $22,000 and his family still has significant bills following his successful transplant. He continues to experience health issues.