Monetary donations to the Darwin & Carolyn Rittgers Fund can be mailed to: Darwin & Carolyn Rittgers Medical Fund c/o Veridian Credit Union, 315 Oak Ridge Circle, Waverly, Iowa 50677
Company Overview
Friends and family of Darwin Rittgers created this page to inform others about his condition and how they can help.
Darwin, age 54, long-time resident of Waverly, IA and former Waverly Police Officer, was informed by doctors in August of 2009 that his kidneys were losing function and that dialysis was a certainty in the near future unless he had a kidney transplant. Doctors continued monitoring ...his blood levels closely and he was placed on the National Donor List which has a waiting period of 3-5 years.
Several friends and relatives offered to donate; however, for various reasons, they were unable to do so. Darwin was told that a spouse is normally not a good candidate for a match, but after a routine blood donation to the Red Cross they found that Carolyn had the same blood type! Both Darwin and Carolyn went through comparative blood typing and DNA testing and they received the wonderful news that Carolyn was a match and could possibly be Darwin’s donor! They went to Iowa City at the end of October for further testing to confirm this, but when Carolyn went through testing, they discovered she has a cyst the size of a softball on her ovaries. She will be getting this taken care of before the transplant will take place. Darwin continues to have his levels and functions checked monthly as they prepare for an upcoming transplant, hopefully with Carolyn being the donor.
This whole situation has put a tremendous strain on Darwin & Carolyn physically, emotionally, as well as financially, as you can imagine. It is common for transplant patients to be asked to raise money prior to a transplant to cover such things as: anything not covered by insurance, medicine co-pays, travel expenses (gas food, hotel stays), outside testing, loss of income before and after the surgery, etc. This is a unique situation, in that, if Carolyn is the donor, they will both be off of work for quite some time following the surgery. We want to ensure that the last thing they need to worry about is their finances….that they can focus on their recovery.
That is the purpose of this group. We know that many people love Darwin & Carolyn, have been impacted by their lives, and would want to help. This page will be a way that we can keep everyone updated as to how they are doing, where they are at in the process, and how you can help in some way. We will be planning benefits for the family to raise funds, and have set up an account at the First National Bank in Waverly in their name that people can donate to. We are also encouraging groups and individuals to think of ways that they can help…either by planning your own fundraiser ( garage sale, bake sale, car wash, love-offering, raffles, collection jars in businesses, etc. ) through your group, church, organization, or place of employment, promoting this page, or getting involved in helping us get the word out.
If everyone will help in some way , we know Darwin & Carolyn will be forever grateful. We hope you will check back to this page often to see how you can help! Thank you!!
Donations to the Darwin & Carolyn Rittgers Fund can be mailed to :
Darwin & Carolyn Rittgers Medical Fund
c/o Veridian Credit Union
315 Oak Ridge Circle
Waverly, Iowa 50677
Darwin, age 54, long-time resident of Waverly, IA and former Waverly Police Officer, was informed by doctors in August of 2009 that his kidneys were losing function and that dialysis was a certainty in the near future unless he had a kidney transplant. Doctors continued monitoring ...his blood levels closely and he was placed on the National Donor List which has a waiting period of 3-5 years.
Several friends and relatives offered to donate; however, for various reasons, they were unable to do so. Darwin was told that a spouse is normally not a good candidate for a match, but after a routine blood donation to the Red Cross they found that Carolyn had the same blood type! Both Darwin and Carolyn went through comparative blood typing and DNA testing and they received the wonderful news that Carolyn was a match and could possibly be Darwin’s donor! They went to Iowa City at the end of October for further testing to confirm this, but when Carolyn went through testing, they discovered she has a cyst the size of a softball on her ovaries. She will be getting this taken care of before the transplant will take place. Darwin continues to have his levels and functions checked monthly as they prepare for an upcoming transplant, hopefully with Carolyn being the donor.
This whole situation has put a tremendous strain on Darwin & Carolyn physically, emotionally, as well as financially, as you can imagine. It is common for transplant patients to be asked to raise money prior to a transplant to cover such things as: anything not covered by insurance, medicine co-pays, travel expenses (gas food, hotel stays), outside testing, loss of income before and after the surgery, etc. This is a unique situation, in that, if Carolyn is the donor, they will both be off of work for quite some time following the surgery. We want to ensure that the last thing they need to worry about is their finances….that they can focus on their recovery.
That is the purpose of this group. We know that many people love Darwin & Carolyn, have been impacted by their lives, and would want to help. This page will be a way that we can keep everyone updated as to how they are doing, where they are at in the process, and how you can help in some way. We will be planning benefits for the family to raise funds, and have set up an account at the First National Bank in Waverly in their name that people can donate to. We are also encouraging groups and individuals to think of ways that they can help…either by planning your own fundraiser ( garage sale, bake sale, car wash, love-offering, raffles, collection jars in businesses, etc. ) through your group, church, organization, or place of employment, promoting this page, or getting involved in helping us get the word out.
If everyone will help in some way , we know Darwin & Carolyn will be forever grateful. We hope you will check back to this page often to see how you can help! Thank you!!
Donations to the Darwin & Carolyn Rittgers Fund can be mailed to :
Darwin & Carolyn Rittgers Medical Fund
c/o Veridian Credit Union
315 Oak Ridge Circle
Waverly, Iowa 50677
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