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Blood Drive To Benefit Rich Rauner Set For July 8

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BY KAAREN VALENTA

A blood drive will be held for Richard Rauner at Edmond Town Hall on

Wednesday, July 8, to collect the 150 to 200 units of blood that may be needed

when the 57-year-old Sandy Hook resident undergoes a heart transplant.

Mr Rauner, who retired from the Newtown post office in March, has been in

Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia for five weeks, waiting for a heart

to become available through the nationwide United Network for Organ Sharing

(UNOS) program. While he waits, receiving intravenous medication to keep his

weakened heart pumping, his friends in Newtown and surrounding towns have been

trying to help with his other needs.

The Newtown Rotary Club has arranged for a blood drive to be held at town hall

from 8:30 am to 7 pm on July 8.

"A heart transplant can easily require 150 to 200 units of blood," said Elaine

Woody of the Blood Services Department of the Western Connecticut chapter of

the American Red Cross. "That's what we set aside for heart transplant surgery

and we will have to store that much away for [Mr Rauner]."

The need comes at a time when blood supplies traditionally are low.

"We are desperate for blood," Ms Woody said. "Summer donations are very

critical -- we are usually down about 1,000 units in the summer. This is due

to donors on vacation (and) no high school or college blood drives until

September."

Ms Woody said she expects the July 8 blood drive to be successful because of

the success of other blood drives in Newtown. She said the blood drive three

weeks ago at Western Connecticut Federal Credit Union on Church Hill Road

collected 88 units, probably a record for the Red Cross bus. That drive also

collected blood for a local resident and raised money for the fire companies'

Cairns Iris Fund. A May 15 blood drive collected 148 units for Thomas Ward, a

12-year-old Sandy Hook boy who is being treated for Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare

but treatable form of bone cancer.

"Newtown is fabulous about responding to blood drives," Ms Woody said. "We

expect to collect a lot of blood for Mr Rauner."

Collecting Money

Besides the blood drive, Mr Rauner's friends have been busy raising money to

help pay his bills. Barbara Nelson of Southbury and Rose Hall of Newtown have

collected money at the Grand Union and have placed collection containers in My

Place restaurant and the Pizza Palace. Mr Rauner's godson, David Lewis, sold

lemonade in front of the diner and deli in Sandy Hook to raise money for him.

"Richard has done so much over the years for the community, for his church,

and for his neighbors in Shady Rest," Ms Nelson said. "Now it's time for us to

do something for him."

Ms Nelson visited him at the hospital recently and was impressed by what she

saw.

"While I was there a 24-year-old man who had an infection a year ago came in

and, within four days, had a heart and lung transplant operation. On Sunday,

when the heart arrived, all other patients went into his room to rally around

him. Later they all stood in the hallway when he went to surgery to cheer him

on," she said.

"I was very impressed. All the doctors are wonderful and there was one nurse

for every three patients. Richard was able to walk around. He had wires

attached to his chest and a fanny pack with medicine that is pumped into his

heart. But he looked great. I was thrilled. I know that Richard has many more

things to do for humanity."

Ms Nelson gave her friend a tape recorder to produce a journal of his

experiences at Temple, one of the nation's leading heart transplant centers.

Ellie Lewis, David's mother, has visited Mr Rauner twice.

"His spirits were great, really terrific. He looked great, better than he has

looked in years," she said.

The first time, Ms Lewis made the seven-hour round trip in one day. Then she

learned that there are low-cost accommodations for family and friends across

the street from the hospital so, on her second trip, she stayed overnight.

"You can rent a room and stay over for $30 for the night," she said. "Richie

makes the reservation for you. It is very convenient."

Waiting For Surgery

Paul J. Mather, MD, associate director of the Cardiomyopathy Center at the

Temple University School of Medicine, is one of Mr Rauner's doctors.

"I'm one of a team that includes six medical doctors and two surgeons," he

said. "There actually are 21 people on the team including a psychiatrist, 13

nurses and nurse coordinator."

Dr Mather said there currently are about 20 patients -- "a medium to high

number" -- at the hospital waiting for a heart transplant.

"Every year 14,000 people become potential for heart transplants," he said.

"We do about 2,500 a year nationwide because of the limits of the donor pool.

Last year 82 adults were done at Temple. Our success rate was 87 percent last

year, 92 percent the year before. Our five-year success rate is 77 percent,

about the same or better than the national average."

Dr Mather said Temple has increased its potential donor pool by 25 percent by

using more low-weight donor hearts in transplant surgery. Previously donor

hearts were selected to match the size of the diseased heart because it was

believed that a smaller heart couldn't sustain a larger body.

"We found that the heart can grow," Dr Mather said.

While patients wait for a transplant, they have no time to get bored.

"Every day I go to class, learn about heart transplants, drugs, exercise," Mr

Rauner said in a telephone interview last week. "It's not a typical hospital

stay. We made our own pizzas, have our own dining room, do arts and crafts. If

we are good, we get to sit outside on a bench for an hour. I feed two crippled

pigeons. The fresh air is marvelous."

Mr Rauner said he wears a fanny pack that contains a pump which feeds the drug

Dobulamine through a tube and a Hickman shunt directly into his heart. The

process must be closely monitored and Mr Rauner must remain in the hospital

until the transplant is done.

"I feel like a 22-year-old," he said. "My blood pressure is down to about

100/50. I'm a diabetic but my sugar is completely under control. I can sleep

six hours, I can breath, I feel comfortable -- it's really a miracle."

Mr Rauner said he has received hundreds of cards, artwork from students at the

Wesley Learning Center and from children who delighted in getting a lollipop

from him when he worked at the post office.

"I can't thank people enough," he said. "If friends could be worth dollars,

I'd be a multi-millionaire."

Contributions can be sent to the Richard Rauner Fund, Box 111, Newtown 06470,

or to the fund in care of Mary Herbert at Fleet Bank, 6 Queen Street, Newtown

06470.

Cards and letters may be sent to Mr Rauner at Temple University Hospital,

Parkenson Building, Room 706A, Broad and Ontario Streets, Philadelphia, PA

19140.