Stand Up for Spencer

As many of you already know, on November 30th, 2016, Spencer Kolman received both a heart and lung organ donation. This miraculous gift made him the only child in the United States to receive such a transplant in 2016.

The surgery was a success, and little by little, Spencer has made great strides in his recovery. He was released from the hospital just before Christmas, but due to the complexity of the operation, and the high risk of his body rejecting both organs, Spencer remains living in St. Louis. He staying there with his father and is separated from the rest of his family living in a southwest suburb of Chicago.

The cost of maintaining two households, hospital bills, insurance, and trips to the hospital 3 to 4 times a week is astronomical. You may also know the back story of how Ken was let go from his job back in October 2016. Since then he has spent day and night with Spencer making sure he is taken care of and that he gets to all of his medical appointments throughout the winter months.

This is where you can play a critical role in helping Spencer's family. 2017 is a new year that brings hope and promise for a full recovery for Spencer to move back to Chicago hopefully sometime in the spring. With that start of the new year also resets all of their out of pocket costs and deductibles with their insurance back to zero. This, plus all the additional medical bills from last year and the family trying to survive on only one parent's salary that now is forced to pay out close to 90% of that salary to the families health insurance premiums. This is a tall task for any family, even in a household where both parents are working.

Many of you have already donated money to help the Kolman family, and they are beyond thankful......


Take a moment and think of a child in your life. Is it your best friend’s child, a neighborhood kid, a family member, or even your own child? What are their passions? What are their favorite classes at school? What is their favorite color? Do you have a child in mind? Well, we certainly have a child in mind. Meet our friend Spencer. He is an awesome 14 year-old kid who loves the Chicago Blackhawks, math and science class, and the color green. Unfortunately, Spencer is in desperate need of our help. Approximately three years ago, Spencer began having breathing difficulties. After originally being misdiagnosed with asthma and pneumonia, Spencer was ultimately diagnosed with Severe Restrictive Lung Disease (also known as Pulmonary Fibrosis). Doctors have attributed his condition to the chemotherapy and radiation he received while battling an aggressive form of cancer as a sixteen-month old baby. When Spencer was first diagnosed, his lung function was around 40%. At that time, his doctors were hopeful that the condition would improve because of his young age and due to the fact that he was still growing. However, our worst fears have come true and over the past year Spencer’s health and breathing have been rapidly declining. He has lost a lot of weight and struggles to do even the most normal activity that a typical 14 year-old boy can do. In order to combat his weight loss, his doctors have placed a feeding tube through his nose so he can obtain the proper nutrition he requires. In addition to the feeding tube, Through all of this, Spencer’s family has not given up. has 1-2 years left in his young life. Unfortunately, there is no cure for Pulmonary Fibrosis and the doctors have told Spencer’s family that he only Hospital, with hopes of finding some help for this terminal illness. Spencer’s family refuses to give up on their son and continue to look Spencer requires the use of oxygen 24 hours a day and has begun taking a steroid that will hopefully offer some relief for his breathing difficulties. In January 2016, Spencer and his dad visited the University of Chicago to see a doctor that had previously treated Spencer when he had cancer as a small child. The doctor recommended Spencer have an echocardiogram to check his heart. The results showed that Spencer was in heart failure (fluid in his lungs), compounding his breathing difficulties. Thankfully, after almost a week in the hospital, he was stable enough to come home. In February 2016, Spencer and his dad traveled to Boston’s Children’s Hospital to be evaluated for a lung and possible heart transplant. Spencer’s heart wasn’t in dire need, but a week’s worth of medical testing confirmed everyone’s biggest fear. The last beacon of hope for Spencer faded when doctors determined that he was not a candidate for a lung transplant. With his weakened state of health, the risk of death is too great for Spencer to undergo a lung transplant. And just recently, Spencer’s medical history and information has been sent to other hospitals like the St. Louis Children’s for an alternative that may save him. In order to continue exploring all of these options while still keeping Spencer comfortable, the Kolman family needs our help and support. Medical deductibles, copays, prescriptions, procedures not covered by health insurance plans, hotels, airfare, and basic comfort items have added up quickly. To assist with these unsurmountable costs, we have set up this gofundme page and all $$ raised will be used to help Spencer.