Sedgewickville family receives gift from Secret Santa

MEMPHIS, TENN., Dec. 19, 2008 – A Denver-area family has decided not to exchange Christmas gifts this year. Instead, they will provide Christmas cheer to transplant patients and their families.

The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, know how a medical crisis can change the meaning of Christmas. Their relative received a small bowel transplant in 2003. She recently celebrated her fifth "birthday" and is doing well today.

As the family began planning for this holiday season, they recalled the struggles their relative faced. At the time of her illness, her three children were in middle and high school, and the mounting medical bills caused the family to lose their home and cars. Christmas presents for the children were not an option.

Remembering this difficult time, the family decided to celebrate this Christmas by giving patients the money they would have spent on gifts for one another. With the help of the National Foundation for Transplants, they selected two families facing a grim holiday season and provided them with the means to celebrate the holidays.

Wess Holston of Sedgewickville, Mo., will benefit from the family’s generosity. Holston, 30, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 16. In recent years, the disease has become so uncontrollable that he cannot be left alone. Extreme changes in his blood sugar levels could cause a seizure. He also suffers from extreme leg pain due to neuropathy. There are many days when he is unable to get out of bed, and he struggles to keep solid foods down.

Doctors say a pancreas transplant is essential to Holston’s survival. The transplant will cost approximately $300,000, and Holston has no health insurance.

Holston and his wife, Katrina, have six children, ranging in age from 3 to 12. The family anticipated a very meager Christmas, and this gift will make their holidays much brighter.

"May God bless the Denver family," said Katrina. "There will be tears of joy this Christmas, not tears of guilt. There are no words to describe how much this means to us, and we thank this family and NFT for their help. Our children are going to have a great Christmas this year."

To overcome their financial challenges, both the Holston family turned to the National Foundation for Transplants for assistance. NFT is a nonprofit organization that helps patients raise funds to pay for transplant-related expenses.

"We are so touched by this family’s generosity," said Jackie Hancock, NFT president. "The Holstons are struggling to get by, and these gifts will enable them to have a true Christmas celebration this year. What a kind and selfless gesture to make during this season of giving."

To make donations in honor of Wess Holston, please visit www.transplants.org and click on "patients we help" to search for him by name.

About NFT

NFT is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Memphis, Tenn. that has been helping transplant patients overcome financial obstacles since 1983. NFT provides fundraising expertise and advocacy to transplant patients by organizing fundraising campaigns in the patients’ own communities. NFT currently assists more than 700 transplant candidates and recipients nationwide. For more information about NFT, please call 800-489-3863 or visit www.transplants.org.