Zumbathon benefits transplant recipient
Volunteers are holding a Zumbathon from 3 to 5 p.m. Sept. 28 at Bower Hill Elementary School, 424 Bower Hill Road, Venetia, for Geri Whalen, 33, who developed kidney disease after the birth of her third child.
Doctors told Whalen she needed a kidney/pancreas transplant to survive. Although she has no family history of kidney disease, Whalen has had diabetes since she was 9 years old.
Her sister, Dana Christner, donated a kidney; Whalen is on the transplant waiting list for a pancreas.
The average kidney transplant costs about $250,000, and a pancreas transplant costs more than $285,000. Even with health insurance, Whalen faces significant expenses related to the surgery. For the rest of her life, she will need follow-up care and daily antirejection medications.
Whalen and her family turned to the National Foundation for Transplants for assistance. NFT is a nonprofit organization that helps transplant patients raise money to pay for medical expenses.
Advance admission to the Zumbathon is $15 when registering online at www.geristeam.com by Sept. 27. Admission will be $20 at the door. The session will be taught by certified Zumba instructor Tara Benkoski, and there will be a DJ, raffles, health stations and a massage therapist. The first 50 people to register will receive a free T-shirt.
For more information, contact Sondra Hathaway at 412-478-7457 or hathaway92097@verizon.net.
To make a donation in Whalen’s honor, visit www.transplants.org and select Find an NFT Patient, or mail contributions to the NFT Pennsylvania Transplant Fund, 5350 Poplar Ave., Suite 430, Memphis, TN 38119. Write “in honor of Geri Whalen” in the subject line.