Client: Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Source: Dekalb Daily Chronicle
After Ricky De La Cruz had a heart transplant at Lurie Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Organ Transplant Association is striving to raise funding to offset medical expenses. Transplant procedures often exceed $500,000:
Ricky De La Cruz, 17, of DeKalb, was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome in 1998, and on April 19, the high school student received a life-saving heart transplant. However, transplant procedures often exceed $500,000 in medical expenses, according to a news release from the association.
So far, an estimated $40,000 has been raised by DeKalb volunteers, and the charity is asking for more people to pitch in to help ease transplant costs for the De La Cruz family.
De La Cruz moved from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago to a nearby Ronald McDonald House last week. He has already walked more than 10 miles since being released from the hospital, said his mother, Dori De La Cruz.
Decal Daily Chronicle, “Charity group seeking donations for DeKalb teen, transplant recipient,” June 28, 2016