Rathdrum toddler to get needed cornea transplant

Ruth Shove has carried a card for years stating that she is an organ donor, but she never thought about that same choice for her children.

As she waits for a new cornea for her 2-year-old daughter, the Rathdrum mother of four knows now what she would do if she were ever in that undesirable position. Until they are old enough to say so for themselves, her children would be donors, too, she said.

“One person can contribute so much to so many others,” she said. “I don’t think people are aware of how much it really helps someone.”

Shove was convinced of the value of donation after touring the Northwest Lions Eye Bank in Seattle. She was there with her daughter, Katelyn, after learning that a cornea transplant was the child’s only hope for normal sight in her left eye.

Since birth, Katelyn’s eye muscles have been deteriorating. The cornea is scarred and the left eye wanders. The little bit she sees in that eye is a blur.

Katelyn has adjusted well to her deficits. She takes stairs cautiously, but still runs about as any toddler would. Left untreated, she will live her life guarding one precious, functioning eye.

Shove had no plan of how to pay for the surgery, which is expected to cost more than $10,000. Like many Idaho parents, she and her husband cannot afford health insurance for the family. Ruth works in an assisted-living facility and her husband, Darin, works in construction. They knew within the first week of Katelyn’s life that her vision was impaired. Ruth worried about how they would manage.

“I didn’t want her to go through life like this,” she said.

One phone call to the Rathdrum Lions Club brought a solution to the family. The 40-member club took a vote and agreed unanimously to come to Katelyn’s aid. Treasurer Norm Heitstuman said they didn’t consider refusing help.

“It never entered our minds,” he said.

He knew they would have the support of Lions Club International, which will provide 50 percent of the surgery costs. The Rathdrum club assured the Shoves that they could come up with the rest, including travel costs back and forth to Seattle. Heitstuman connected with Northwest Lions Club and found a surgeon willing to donate services. The Rathdrum club held an auction which brought in $1,650. They intend to raise and contribute several thousand more to Katelyn’s cause.

Although the Lions Club has disintegrated in Coeur d’Alene recently, the Rathdrum community service organization shows no sign of faltering.

So far this year they paid tuition for a child to go to Twin Lakes diabetes camp and gave money so the camp could build a wheelchair ramp. They gave startup money for a new Lions Club in the Bayview/Athol area and donated to the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind. They sponsored a little league baseball team, gave scholarship money to a graduating senior, and purchased 20 pairs of glasses for those in need.

Heitstuman works as lead mechanic for the Lakeland School District and if a child in the district needs glasses, that information comes to him.

To cover the cost of Katelyn’s surgery, the club needs more than average success in soliciting donations this year. This is their third year to sponsor a car raffle, which has become their primary annual fund-raiser. Heitstuman is always on the lookout for a car to purchase that will bring the club high revenue. Their first car brought in $12,000. This year’s ‘65 red two-door Mustang coupe will be raffled off after Labor Day.

Ruth Shove was shocked to learn what the Lions Club would provide for her family. Now that money is less of a worry, she just feels “normal anxiety,” as would any mother preparing a child for surgery. When the phone rings to alert her that they have a donor, the family has one week to get to Seattle. They were told the wait could be a few weeks or as much as a year, since a young donor is preferred to best suit Katelyn’s eyes.

Shove can’t say enough about how grateful she is for the Lions Club. They have been “just wonderful” in pursuing a gift of normal sight for her child.

“We probably wouldn’t be able to get this done if it wasn’t for the Lions Club,” she said.