Dozens of Restoring Hope Transplant House guests will be converging on Madison this weekend for the annual Capital City 5k Transplant Run/Walk.  This may be our favorite event on the transplant calendar as it always brings back so many old friends.  A large group of us are planning on walking the 5k or 1 mile portion of this event, so if you'd like to join us for the walk and try to organize a group photo, please contact Eric.  Registration is still open on the day of the event, so please make plans to come out.  We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday!

We are working hard to organize a Restoring Hope Transplant House Family Reunion event that will be open to all RHTH guests, friends and supporters.  This event will be held at nearby Capital Brewery on Sunday September, 8th.  Please save the date and stayed tuned for more details and sponsorship opportunities!

What a touching gesture to have Dr. Redfield stop by Restoring Hope Transplant House with members of his team, Lauren and Jennifer. We have hosted so many of their patients over the years and have seen them up on the transplant floor during visits to see our families, so it was really a great opportunity to share more about the house, our experiences with transplant families and our hopes and visions for the future.  It was even more powerful that one of their recent patients was at the house during their visit, enjoying all the comforts of home and the warmth of a supportive community of like-minded guests going through a very similar journey.  Thanks for the world-class care you provide so many of our guests and for taking the time out of your busy days to stop by.  Your visit really meant a lot to us!

 

-RHTH Transplant Family on Dr. Redfield's Visit

We appreciate our friends Diane and John stopping by for a visit while they were in the area from California along with our Lions Club friends Peter and Joann Cerniglia.  In 2001, Diane heroically donated a kidney to help give John his much needed gift of life.  They first visited Restoring Hope several years ago as we were preparing the house for opening.  John Brockington, as many of you longtime Green Bay Packers fans will remember was a star running back for the Packers after starring at Ohio State where he helped the Buckeyes win a National Championship.  A great transplant family doing great things to support the transplant community.  We are so grateful for their visit and for how closely they have followed our progress over the years!

A New Fence For Restoring Hope - Thank You Guests, Friends & Lions!

With our original RHTH fence in disrepair due to many long years and harsh weather, an online fundraiser was organized to help us raise enough money to replace it.  Within days, our Restoring Hope guests and friends helped raise the over $3,000 necessary to help build us a new fence.  Our friends with several area Lions Clubs heard of our efforts and generously volunteered to help install the entire fence to help restore some of the natural outdoor beauty that has made this house such a downtown Middleton landmark for so many years.  Words can't possibly describe how grateful we were for the immediate outpouring of love and support from so many to help make this much needed project a reality.  Many thanks to you all!

 

We believe that God truly puts us in the right place at the right time. He gives us what we most need when we need it the most. This is especially true of our experience at The Restoring Hope Transplant House.

 

We became acquainted with the House and its staff in October, 2018, when Tim was referred to the UW-Madison Clinic for a second evaluation for heart transplant. We had previously stayed at the Gift of Life Transplant House in Rochester, MN, while undergoing Tim's first evaluation for transplant at the Mayo Clinic. Having a wonderful experience in Rochester, we were familiar with the transplant house-type of environment. When we heard that Madison had a similar type of house, we were very eager to investigate and stay. Our initial stay at Restoring Hope well-exceeded our expectations. The first night we were there, we were greeted by Cindy and Eric who were beyond kind and accommodating. We got to know each other, as well as the other patients and caregivers who were staying there at the time. As we all sat around the big dining room table, we soon knew that this was a good fit for us. We will never forget when Cindy said, "You know, Sheryl, when Tim has his transplant he will have a whole team of people looking out for him at the hospital. He will have great, round the clock care." She went on to say, "Who will be there to look out for you? That is what we are here for. We will take good care of you and make sure your needs are met." From that moment on, a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders, and we knew that this is where we wanted to stay. Just what we most needed when we needed it the most.

 

Tim received THE CALL from UW-Madison for his heart transplant just before midnight on April 26, 2019. While in surgery, I contacted the House and told Eric the news and was told they would have an opening for me to stay. I was relieved to hear this. Eric said to come whenever I was able to leave the hospital. It didn't matter the time, they would be there for me.   As soon as I drove up to the house, I was greeted with a big hug and help with my luggage. Eric asked if I had eaten and offered to run to a nearby restaurant to pick up dinner. Just what I most needed when I needed it the most.

 

Tim's surgery went well and he was making great strides in his recovery. Ten days after transplant, however, his condition took an unexpected turn. His kidneys started to fail and dialysis was needed. He had terrible stomach pain, his meds were making him hallucinate, and he would need to go in for another surgery to alleviate fluid build-up around his heart. It was a very trying and frightening day, to say the least. I don't know what I would have done that night if I had to go "home" to a hotel room and be all by myself. I would have been very lonely and filled with anxiety. Instead, I was able to go "home" to a place where I was greeted with a hug and people who were eager to listen, offer compassion and words of encouragement. The caring staff, fellow transplant patients and caregiver warriors became my refuge. This supportive community had experienced days like mine, and could relate to what I was experiencing. Just what I most needed when I needed it the most.

 

Conveniently located, The Restoring Hope Transplant House is a charming and comfortable place to stay at a very affordable price. But more, it is a listening ear, a home-cooked meal, reassurance, and a smile. We experienced friendship and the coming together of souls who knew what we were going through and just what we most needed at that moment in our journey.

 

Throughout our journey, we have much praise for The Restoring Hope Transplant House, its staff, and the wonderful people we met and continue to meet during our stays. This kind of opportunity is made possible only through the work, dedication and kindness of many. To all who support the House, we say "Thank you!"

 

Sheryl & Tim

Heart Transplant Recipient Family

Arpin, WI

Monthly Guest Stay Records in 7 of the Past 8 Months

It has been a wonderful summer here at Restoring Hope Transplant House.  We have set monthly guest stay records in 7 of the past 8 months dating back to last winter.  These are just a few of the incredible faces of transplant we have shared a home with this summer!  

In Their Own Words: Thanks For Restoring My Hope!

 

The Restoring Hope Transplant House for me has meant more than just healing and waiting for my post op appointment from my kidney auto transplant surgery. This house has made me feel that life is beautiful and that strangers are loving.  

 

Before my surgery six months ago to be exact my daughter Shelby passed away unexpectedly. My heart has been shattered into a million pieces. Our lives were changed in a blink of an eye. This house has brought healing to not only me with the loss of my daughter but for my husband and our son too.  

 

My surgery healing has been made easier being in this house. There is no way I would've been able to heal like I have if I was in a dark hotel room. I feel like I would've become deeply depressed. This house has been a home to me and my husband. This house has brought me hope. Thank you Cindy, Brian and Eric for making our stay feel like a home. Cindy, you have become my friend and a mother figure to me, I will forever be grateful for all the talks we had at the table every morning. Eric, you are now my brother, you made me feel at home right away with greeting me at the door with a hug. Thank you for making me bust a stitch laughing. Eric you are one of a kind, you have the biggest heart and you sincerely care about complete strangers and that my friend is a rare quality. Thank you Restoring Hope Transplant House for giving me HOPE. I love Y'ALL!  

 

Michelle

LPHS - Kidney Autotransplant Recipient

South Carolina

Lioness Clubs Support RHTH

Many thanks to our area Lioness Club friends for stopping by with a very generous donation this month.  As a non-profit that depends entirely upon donations, your kindness and generosity mean the world to us.  What meant even more to us, however, was the heartfelt interest you took in one of our transplant recipients while you were here and the regular updates you were curious to know about her progress.  Happy to report she is doing well, back home with her family and on the road to recovery.  Your donation was amazing, but your love for the people we share a house with really means a lot to us.  Thank you for that!

Thanks For Everything Ed Pompeian

Our family was deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of Ed Pompeian. Ed received a life saving kidney transplant at Mayo Clinic in 1973. In 1984, he founded Gift of Life Transplant House in Rochester, MN to help other transplant families that followed in his footsteps. Gift of Life was the first transplant house in the country.

Our family stayed at Gift of Life many years ago while a family member was battling multiple myeloma with a bone marrow transplant. It is a special place. Our families lengthy stay there and the people we met throughout our journey inspired our efforts to bring the very first transplant house here to Wisconsin. Quite honestly, Restoring Hope Transplant House does not exist without the vision, compassion and generosity of Ed Pompeian. His house and our experiences under his roof so completely moved us that it became our own passion to try to capture the same magic he created for transplant families in Rochester and bring it here to the Madison area.  

 

Thanks for everything Ed! We knew you for just a short time, but you changed our lives forever!

Hospital Visits To See Our Restoring Hope Family

When you share a home with someone during what may be the single greatest challenge of their lives, you become family.  It is a special bond you share forever even after families have long since returned home. These are the relationships that make Restoring Hope Transplant House so special and the moments we will never forget!

Join the Bone Marrow Registry

Our friend Shelly from Sturgeon Bay underwent a bone marrow transplant several years ago in our early years and then more recently had a very rare 4 organ transplant.   

 

Shelly stayed with us just this week prior to her annual checkup.  After all she has been through it is a miracle that she is still with us...largely thanks to the compassion of multiple families who were kind enough to give her the gift of life. We encourage you all to learn more about joining the bone marrow registry to help give life to so many of our dear families in need.

Organ Donation Saves Lives - Become An Organ Donor Today!

We have the good fortune to live with some truly remarkable people and hear some really incredible stories! Great to have Paul (r) back recently from Michigan.  Paul's brother (left, with daughter) donated a kidney through the paired kidney exchange so that his brother could receive one in return.  This picture was taken just as they were heading out to meet Paul's direct donor for dinner...a woman who just so happened to be from the Madison area.

Please take a moment to learn more about organ donation and how you can register to become an organ donor in your state.  A few moments of your time could one day save several lives.

You Can Help - Support RHTH & Transplant Families Today!

If this cause and the above faces, families and stories inspire and move you, we hope that you would please consider making a donation to Restoring Hope Transplant House.  Your generosity is so vitally important  as a non-profit that depends almost entirely upon financial contributions.  We simply cannot do this alone.

Please help support the transplant community by making a secure online donation to Restoring Hope Transplant House via PayPal today! 

We are also actively searching for major donors to help with our joint efforts with the Lions Clubs of Wisconsin and others to help push us over the top for our extensive plans to renovate and add on to the current house as well as monthly donors and fundraisers to help with operating expenses.  This will ensure that Restoring Hope Transplant House becomes a longtime fixture in both downtown Middleton and in the transplant community.  If you have any suggestions, connections or interest please contact Executive Director Cindy Herbst at 608-831-1726 or via email at [email protected].  Please help!