Family Spotlight

COTA Rings in the New Year With Its 1,400th Patient

Born on November 11, 2008, Parker was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Failure. Parker spent the first 128 days of his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He must undergo a 12-hour home dialysis treatment, called peritoneal dialysis, every day. Baby Parker now needs a kidney transplant to save his life.

“Parker is a true miracle because the night he was born we were told he wasn’t going to make it,” said Lindsay Scaife, Parker’s mom. “All hope was lost at that point. When he was four-hours-old the doctors told us if we wanted to have him baptized, it would need to be done quickly. We chose an outfit and went to his hospital room to spend our last moments with him. Instead, Parker just kept beating the odds day-by-day. Hope is what kept us going.”

Adding to this family’s hope? Mom Lindsay is a perfect match for Parker and will be his kidney donor. To receive his mother’s kidney, Parker must weigh in at the 10 kilo mark. While he has met that milestone, the small size of his bladder has currently put the transplant on hold. Parker’s bladder has never been filled, meaning that it is less than one quarter the size of a normal baby his age. The family is waiting for an upcoming surgery that will place a tube in his bladder allowing for it to be filled with saline up to five times per day. If all goes well, Parker’s living donor kidney transplant will be in late spring or early summer.

But hope comes with a price tag. The Scaife family represents a majority of Americans -- they have health insurance through their employers; however, their ability to financially support Parker’s medical needs will soon be exceeded. They are concerned about insurance life-time maximums and paying deductibles, co-pays and other expenses, like the expensive medications Parker will require for his lifetime.

Earlier this fall, Dustin and Lindsay Scaife reached out to COTA for help with Parker’s transplant-related expenses; their team of volunteers has been working tirelessly
ever since.

Lori Kletzien, Vice President of Milwaukee-based Building Service Inc., serves as Public Relations Coordinator for Parker’s COTA team of 20 community members. According to Lori, “We have raised more than $15,500 to date and we haven’t had a fundraising event yet. Having the ability to use COTA’s website and viral marketing tools has been amazing. Parker’s COTA website (www.COTAforParkerS.com) is trustworthy and people feel very comfortable making online donations. When we started working with COTA, they sent out a press release about Parker’s journey and within 30 minutes of the email being sent by COTA, we were contacted by a local television station that taped an interview and aired it that day,” Kletzien added.

“Giving Hope … Making Miracles is more than a slogan for the Children’s Organ Transplant Association -- it is a guiding vision,” said Rick Lofgren, President of COTA. “Parker’s story is like many that I hear nationwide … a child who needs a second chance at life, and a community that works toward ensuring never-ending hope becomes a miracle.”

According to Dustin Scaife, “COTA has helped us offer Parker a true second chance at life. With us near our lifetime max on health insurance, it is so comforting to know we are able to focus on Parker and not on how we are going to pay for the bills. Saying ‘Thank you, COTA’ doesn’t seem to be enough.”

Please visit www.COTAforParkerS.com and leave the Scaife family your
own message of encouragement, or make a donation to help with ongoing
transplant-related expenses.

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Giving Options

Ann M. Weiner: A Tribute To A Generous Woman

A few years ago William Mauskopf's aunt, Ann M. Wiener, passed away leaving a legacy that impacted charitable organizations she was involved with over the years. "My aunt was active in many organizations, even up to the point of when she died at the age of 101," commented William. "She was a generous woman who made provisions in her estate for a number of organizations, including the Children's Organ Transplant Association, she felt were making a difference in the lives of the people they served."

Mrs. Wiener was born in New York City, and was a world traveler who made her home in the New York and New Jersey area for most of her life. Even though she had no children of her own, she cared for others as if they were her own.

"My heart soars and I am frequently amazed by the generous acts of caring individuals like Mrs. Wiener," said COTA President Rick Lofgren. "Even though she did not know any of our patients personally, she felt compelled to help where she could."

"Since 1986 our patients have been the beneficiaries of the kindness of many, like Mrs. Wiener, who made a decision to get involved in the lives of others," Lofgren said.

Individuals are welcome to make donations in honor of a specific COTA campaign, or to any patient where the assistance is most needed. You may print a bequest tri-fold brochure by following these links. Voice of a Legacy or Will Your Will Be Known

For more information about planning your financial future, or supporting the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, call Rick Lofgren at 800.366.2682 or email him at .

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Ways You Can Help

Adopting COTA … A Very Special School Project

Herbert Hoover said, “Children are our most valuable natural resource.” Two 7th graders in Georgia proved this statement to be true when they chose to adopt the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) as part of a school project competition. Here’s what the middle school students wrote to COTA:

Several weeks later, the following update was received from the students:

COTA is anxiously waiting to hear the results of this ‘kids helping kids’ project designed to help give hope and make miracles. Even if Dannah and Jake do not win the competition, their time and effort has taught them, and their classmates, that kids are indeed a
powerful resource.

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COTA News

Being a COTA Miracle Maker is as Easy as Giving Two Quarters

For several years, the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) has been a proud partner with The American Legion in giving hope and making miracles for children. The American Legion Departments, Posts and Auxiliaries have been creative and tireless in their efforts to help COTA families.

This year the Department of Ohio has kicked off a challenge to each Ohio Legionnaire: give just fifty cents to COTA.

It sounds like so little, but with a membership topping 140,000, all of those quarters will add up fast. The Ohio Department’s goal is to raise at least $60,000 to help Ohio COTA families with transplant-related expenses.

COTA is hoping that this one initiative can be duplicated in American Legion Departments across the country, and that other groups will also take up this same challenge to raise funds for families in need.

To get more information, contact cota@cota.org.

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COTA Fast Fact

The Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) provides:
Extensive Volunteer Training Program
Few families know how to organize a community fundraising campaign, but the Children’s Organ Transplant Association does. With more than 20 years of experience, COTA has the expertise to help volunteers be successful. COTA provides ongoing support to community campaign volunteers and patient families.

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