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Capron Lions restoring hope to more people
ANNE EICKSTADT PHOTO Belvidere Daily Republican
Steve and Kelly Boettger are hoping to raise enough money to nearly triple the capacity for Raising Hope Transplant Center to house patients and their caregivers.
By Anne Eickstadt
The Capron Lions were flipping pancakes to raise funds for a transplant house on Saturday, Feb. 17. “The Restoring Hop Transplant House provides a temporary home atmosphere for organ, stem cell, and bone marrow transplant patients and their caregivers,” said Kelly Boettger. “They work in conjunction with UW Madison Hospital.”
“The home opened in 2013 and it is located in Middleton, Wis. Only five minutes from the hospital. Currently, they have six guest rooms. They will expand to have 16 rooms. They have had guests from 36 states and four countries. They have booked those six rooms over 5200 nights and have had to turn people away because they did not have enough rooms. They offer specialized accommodations along with hospitality, compassion and support during the patient’s transplant journey.
“My husband had a heart transplant and I stayed at the house while he was in the hospital for a week. “When they released my husband, he came to stay at the house for another two weeks to stay close to the hospital for check-ups and tests.
“Restoring Hope is not a public hotel and facility. It is for patients and keeps a clean environment. No one with colds, etc. is allowed to stay. They are very aware of the low immune system of patients and they take care of that.
“Everyone there was going through the same type of thing so you have a built-in support system while you are there. Also, it is very important to them to take care of the caregivers. The caregiver is the advocate for the patient and the hospital does not tell you when the doctors will be visiting. I would try to sneak out of the house at 5 a.m. to get to the hospital and they would already have a hot buffet breakfast ready. If you don’t want to eat then, they will make sure you have a muffin to take with you for later. My car would already be cleared of snow when I went out.
“It is such a great place. There are a lot of people in the Northern Illinois area who have stayed there.
“It is a non-profit facility. They rely mostly on donations to keep their doors open.
“My husband is the governor of the local Lions Club district. He has made it a District Governor’s Project to raise $40,000 by April. We are over the halfway mark to reach that goal. As a side issue, if we meet that $40,000 goal, we will receive naming rights to one of the new rooms. We will be able to leave a legacy by naming it after this district.
“The Lions have been working very hard across the district and we have had a good response from the community.”
You can find out more about this facility online at www.restoringhope.org.
If anyone would like to contribute to Restoring Hope Transplant House, please send a check to District ID Lions, Governor’s Project, P.O. Box 116, Kirkland, Ill. 60146.
