Restoring Hope
May 2018
RESTORING HOPE TRANSPLANT HOUSE IN THE NEWS
Thanks For Your Support
Restoring Hope Transplant House would like to thank local news reporter Madalyn O'Neill and everyone else who was involved in sharing our transplant story with the community.  We have welcomed so many incredible transplant families over the years, all with truly amazing stories and journeys.  Our own very personal transplant journey with leukemia starts when Brian returns to UW Hospital for several days of chemo starting on June 6th followed by a bone marrow transplant scheduled for June 12th.  We are so grateful to have the incredible medical team at UW in our corner and look forward to getting this process started.  We appreciate so many of your kind words and gestures since receiving this shocking diagnosis and are even more grateful for the generous donations to RHTH that make it just a bit easier for us to focus on getting well.     
 
Also important to note to our guests and hospital staff is that RHTH remains open and always will be completely operational as normal during the entirety of this process with Brian.  You can always count on a good morning breakfast, loving support, a house full of laughter and compassion and some truly incredible moments between transplant families going through very similar journeys.     
 
Finally, we would like to send our love and gratitude to the anonymous kind soul on the Bone Marrow Registry who is a 10/10 match for Brian.  Thanks for being an amazing person and for Restoring our own Hope! Brian recently lost his 1st cousin Jim to a brain bleed.  His last request to his family was to donate his organs to those in need, a decision he had made many years ago.  Becoming a bone marrow or organ donor can give hope to so many struggling families in desperate need of help.  We see it and are now living it on a daily basis.  Please consider becoming a donor today, there are so many more families waiting for their own miracle!   
 
Video of this news segment can be seen by visiting the RHTH website homepage at www.restoringhope.org
Central Wisconsin Gift of Life Event Raises Money For RHTH
Restoring Hope Transplant House would like to thank our friends at Central Wisconsin Gift of Life and all of their supporters for hosting their annual Scavenger Hunt event this past month in support of RHTH and other wonderful transplant related causes.  Their fun-filled event has grown exponentially over the years and impressively raised over $14,000 total this year.  Over $7,000 of that was directed towards Restoring Hope Transplant House and our visiting transplant families in need. 

In addition to their generous donation was a carload full of household supplies rounded up by the event participants.  Things we use each and every day in caring for our guests.  We cannot thank UW Organ and Tissue Donation Community Outreach Coordinator Carol Hay enough for both representing RHTH that day and personally bringing back all those supplies as well.  As a non-profit that largely depends on your financial donations, this has been such a major blessing.  Thank you all!

Restoring Hope Thrift Shop Scavenger Hunt
RHTH Guests Fundraiser Event Held In Loving Memory
The Matuszak family first stayed at RHTH in 2014 and each year following they have hosted fundraisers to help give back to Restoring Hope in loving memory of a dear loved one.  Their annual Restoring Hope Thrift Shop Scavenger Hunt was held this month and in addition to the many laughs, hilarious costumes and good times had by all, their event managed to raise over $3,000 for Restoring Hope Transplant House - the place they called home years ago.  A really wonderful video was produced highlighting this event and if you watch to the very end you will see just how emotional and personally touching gatherings like this are for all involved.  A good day for the soul and a great day of giving back.  Thank you all!
Lions Restoring Hope Through Kindness
Our Lions Friends Jerry & Denise Gibbons Drop Off Supplies
Appreciate Lions District Governor Jerry Gibbons and his wonderful wife Denise for stopping by along with the Sharon Lions Club and the Junior and Senior Student Council from Sharon Community School for the incredibly generous donation of household supplies to Restoring Hope Transplant House recently! In a life-changing health related stretch where our thoughts have often times been elsewhere, it has been so many of our loyal Lions, Lioness and Leos that have filled our collective sails in so many ways each week and we cannot thank you all enough.  Where there's a need here at RHTH...there has always been a Lion!
In Their Own Words: Danelle's Pancreas Transplant Story
After being type 1 diabetic for 15 years I had a pancreas transplant on April 12, 2018.

I came to Madison, Wisconsin one time before my transplant.  I had no clue where I was going, I had no clue what to look forward to, I had no clue how the people were going to treat me. I was scared. On February 9, I had my evaluation for my transplant and on April 11 at 4 PM I got the call and they asked me to leave immediately to come to the University of Wisconsin to prepare for my transplant.

After my transplant I didn't know what to expect. I knew there were going to be bumps in the road and I knew it wasn't going to be easy, however, I made it through it and I wouldn't have been able to make it through it if it weren't for my husband who stuck by my side every minute day and night.

When I was in the hospital my husband and I were undecided where we were going to stay after I was discharged from the hospital. I couldn't really go home as I had to stay in the area I just didn't know how long. I kept hearing from nurses, my coordinator, and other patients I met that had transplants about the Restoring Hope Transplant House.  One day my husband and I were sitting in the lounge at the hospital and I picked up a flyer and started reading about the House. The more I read the more I wanted to stay there.

The first night I was discharged from the hospital we stayed at The hotel across the street from UW hospital. I didn't want to stay in a hotel anymore I wanted to be with others that were experiencing the same thing I was going through. I wanted to be able to relate with other families, I wanted to be able to share my story and hear other people's stories.  I didn't want to be alone with just my husband and I.

The second night After being discharged we decided we were going to stay at the Restoring Hope Transplant House.  When we pulled up to the house and into the driveway everyone was so welcoming. They welcomed us with open arms like they've known us for years. At that moment I knew we were at the right place. Everyone at the Restoring Hope Transplant House are the most loving, caring, amazing people that you could ever meet. While we stayed at the house for two weeks we met a lot of new friends, we went on a lot of different adventures, we ate at a lot of different restaurants all with RHTH guests who became great friends. There were many nights that we sat around the table and laughed as hard as we could, played games and cooked dinners for everybody. 

Staying at RHTH is like staying at grandmas as a little kid home away from home. Cindy cooks breakfast every morning for everyone. That's how we always started our day with a good breakfast and some good laughs in the morning. Staying at the house is the best decision we made while we were in Wisconsin after I had my transplant. Cindy and Brian of the RHTH are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Everyone here is treated like family and that's exactly what everyone at the RHTH is.  

In fact this is how welcoming everyone at the RHTH is.  My husband and I have 2 daughters ages 5 & 15 both girls.  Mind you when I came to Wisconsin for my transplant I had no clue I would be here for a month without seeing my kids.  We face time them every day and night but it's not the same as being able to hug and kiss them every day. My youngest daughter was turning 5 on May 5th and I wanted to be home for her birthday but wasn't going to be able to be home.  Instead my wonderful In-laws drove my daughter here to Wisconsin to see her mommy and daddy for her birthday.  While RHTH was full of transplant families, they stayed at a nearby hotel. On Saturday for her birthday we celebrated here at the RHTH with all of our new friends because they not only become your friends here but they now become family.  That's what we did is we celebrated as one big family with pizza, ice cream cake, presents and of course good laughs.  Shelbie was so excited to be where her mommy and daddy were staying and to meet all of our new friends.  Thank you so much Cindy & Eric for making this day so special for our daughter Shelbie but for us as well.  Love you guys!!!

If you or anyone in your family has had or in the future going to be coming to Madison for a transplant please let this be the only place you stay.  Even if you like privacy this is still the place for you to stay.  You don't have to be a social butterfly like me to stay here.  But it's so nice to meet new people that we now call our friends and family.   We met some of the greatest transplant patients while we stayed here.  Not only have some of them gone through the same transplant I had but there were so many people with so many different types of transplants that shared their stories with a complete stranger like me.  It's so nice to listen to what others have gone through and know you're not alone through this journey in life.  

Any time we come to Madison we will always stay here at the RHTH because they are now our family!!

Many Thanks to Cindy, Brian and Eric for opening up their home to all of us and welcoming us with loving care.

This is one place I will never forget and I will always talk about.  

Love & Appreciation
Danelle & David
Sterling Heights, MI
In The Middle Of It All: Eat Locally In Downtown Middleton
So Many Great Restaurants Within Walking Distance
Downtown Middleton has quietly become a major food destination with so many incredible options for all of our guests to enjoy.  Here at RHTH we always keep a current book of menus and coupons for all of our great neighborhood restaurants.  Whether it be a visit to Compadres (above) our favorite new spot for Mexican food or the always popular Hubbard Avenue Diner, everything you could possibly need is within walking distance of RHTH.  Appreciate all these local spots do to support and welcome our visiting families as we always encourage our visitors to eat local.  Stay tuned in the coming months for more photos and visits to other great dining spots in the neighborhood as we continue to make the rounds!
Save The Date: Upcoming 2018 Events


 



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 from supporters like you. 

Our air conditioning bills by themselves are off the charts during this recent heat wave for such a massive house.  Serving daily breakfasts to a full house is also a significant operating expense where donations are so crucial.  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 restoringhope@tds.net.  Please help!
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Cindy recently had a chance to visit her beloved Door County for a few days before the transplant journey begins
About Restoring Hope Transplant House - Contact Cindy

Restoring Hope Transplant House is a non-profit home established to serve organ and bone marrow transplant patients and their families. The home features six generously-sized guest rooms, multiple sitting rooms, full kitchen, laundry, cable tv, wi-fi and a tranquil yet convenient location in downtown Middleton, just five miles from UW Hospital.

If you have any questions about RHTH, please contact Cindy to learn more.   


Restoring Hope Transplant House
7457 Terrace Avenue
Middleton, WI 53562
608-628-8882
restoringhope@tds.net
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Restoring Hope Transplant House

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