In February this year The PEACE Fund made a further donation to COTA.
We have received an update from Rick Lofgren, the President of COTA, on the children The PEACE Fund have been supporting and we have pleasure in including this in full below.
Thank you again for the wonderful $10,000 grant you sent from The PEACE Fund this spring! As it has been a few months since that grant, I wanted to provide additional detail as to where and how the grant has been used for our patients benefit.
One of the things I always try to note with these updates with is that some of our families subsist with incomes of less than $15,000 annually. With that, a $500 mortgage or rent payment may be such an insurmountable obstacle that it completely throws the family unit into chaos. Sadly, too many of our children live in a single parent household, and that usually means a mother is caring for one or more children, without the assistance of a supportive and involved husband.
Because of this balancing act between being both a mother/caretaker and a provider, an amount you and I might think is insignificant may be life-changing to these families. And with the additional trauma of an incredible medical crisis like dialysis or a transplant, sometimes the smallest difference can help make the situation much more livable – especially when financial concerns are removed and the parent can focus on their child’s health.
Here is an update on these children:
Logan is doing very well, and his mom contacted us recently to say thanks for the timely and generous grant as they were having some tough times with day-to-day expenses upon returning home for the first time in more than three months in February. Helen said they are doing well, but without a father in the picture, this family was living on less than $700 each month (from Social Security) as mom could not work until Logan resumed eating without a feeding tube, and that happened for the first time in late February. Logan is now able to attend pre-school, and his mom is able to work part-time again to help the family with living expenses. Thanks in large part to your grant, the family and volunteers are closing in on the $10,000 mark.
Valery, now six months post-transplant, is a year-old child from West Columbia, South Carolina, was successfully transplanted at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. The Huttner family is now home and she continues to make great progress. Combined with your grant, their volunteers began raising funds, and have raised more than $10,000 since they began, and the PEACE Fund grant helped spur their volunteers on to do more for her benefit.
Sophia was successfully transplanted on Christmas Eve 2006 and was doing well until a recent problem (this April) with a portal vein (the main vein going into her liver). She was admitted to the hospital and has been regaining strength as the doctor’s work to correct the problem. Her mom spoke with one of our staff this week and said they have re-listed Sophia as the doctors are concerned that her liver is failing. Her fundraising concluded last summer, and they raised a little over $31,000, including your gift and our challenge grant. Following this recent scare, the family’s volunteers have begun fundraising on a small scale just in case it may be needed in the near future.
Jackie Tate spoke with Chuck (dad) again in April and noted that Victoria’s numbers keep getting better and better and they are still hopeful that someday they’ll be able to give this money (nearly $360,000 raised) to another child. The last conversation we had was that there was no indication that she was ill and the leukemia is gone.
Nothing new since last April when Elijah’s mom said he was to return to school this past fall and was a “normal kid” -- just what we hope happens with all our children. His campaign volunteers raised more than $16,000 for his care.
I spoke with Ellise’s mom, Brandy, last June after Ellise was successfully transplanted and worked on a couple of minor issues for her that kept her at the hospital in Cincinnati for an extended period (more than a month). Brandy and Jackie speak occasionally about reimbursement questions, but all seems quiet (a very good thing!) at the Jones home, and Ellise should be completing the fourth grade now. Ellise’s volunteers raised nearly $29,000.
Nickolas’s family moved from Texas to Colorado due to his dad’s work situation earlier this year. They concluded fundraising (less than $7,500) and are very pleased with their success – thanks in large part to the PEACE Fund. Incidentally, their lead volunteer told me they were set to do a number of new fundraisers, but mom and dad felt they were ‘covered’ and asked everyone to stop.
Thank you again for this wonderful grant.
Rick Lofgren, CFRE President,
Children’s Organ Transplant Association
Giving Hope … Making Miracles