{"id":73033,"date":"2016-02-02T00:36:23","date_gmt":"2016-02-02T05:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=73033"},"modified":"2016-02-02T00:35:36","modified_gmt":"2016-02-02T05:35:36","slug":"benefit-set-for-man-with-lung-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2016\/02\/02\/benefit-set-for-man-with-lung-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Benefit set for man with lung disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

VW independent\/submitted information<\/em><\/p>\n

Imagine if your life was turned upside down with the news that you are not going to get any better and the only chance of seeing your daughters grow up is to have a double-lung transplant. Well that was a real life situation for Brad and Nikki Swander. Brad Swander has been battling with Pulmonary Fibrosis, a lung disease, and went searching for the answers that might give him some hope.<\/p>\n

Pulmonary Fibrosis is a condition in which the tissue deep in one\u2019s lungs becomes scarred over time. The tissue gets thick and stiff and makes it hard for those with the disease to catch their breath, while their blood also may not get enough oxygen. All of the body\u2019s functions depend on delivery of a steady supply of oxygen. In some cases, doctors can determine the cause of the fibrosis, but, in many cases, the cause remains unknown.<\/p>\n

There is no cure for Pulmonary Fibrosis and each person diagnosed has a unique experience with the disease. Some patients remain in stable condition for an extended period of time and others may experience a rapid progression of symptoms.<\/p>\n

The research in Brad Swander\u2019s case has been going on for over a year now. He was really sick at first and was involved in several surgeries before the diagnosis was that he needed to be put on oxygen. He so much wanted to be able to go back to work but was not going to be able to until he improved enough to be off oxygen.<\/p>\n

That day never came, and the need for oxygen became a lifeline for Swander, who is now living with the reality that he will be on oxygen until he has his double-lung transplant surgery. Even though Swander has been approved for the transplant surgery, he has to overcome many tests and levels before he can actually be on the official list.<\/p>\n

That makes for many challenges for a father of three daughters (Amber, Madison, and Grace). Swander has had to quit work and his wife continues to work to support the family. The expenses for the continued medical tests, upcoming surgery, travel to and from Indianapolis, and supporting a family of five continues to be a challenge for the family. The communities where the Swanders live have stepped up to conduct several benefits to assist in the family.<\/p>\n

The Parkway basketball team had a spaghetti dinner benefit and Willshire Youth Activities had a 50\/50 drawing at its basket bingo event. The Swanders attend Praise Point Church in Willshire and the church family is also holding a soup and sandwich dinner fundraiser to assist the family. That event will run from 4-7 p.m. Saturday, February 27, at 555 Decatur Road in Willshire. The church\u2019s Spiritual Care Commission is organizing the dinner with a variety of soups, sandwiches, and desserts. The event also features a silent auction, with many donated items to raise money for the Swander family. For those interested in attending, the cost is a free-will donation to the family, while all money raised will help with medical costs.<\/p>\n

Those interested in helping or donating to this event can contact 419.495.2769. For more information on Swander\u2019s challenge, \u201clike\u201d \u201cBreathe For Brad\u201d on Facebook.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VW independent\/submitted information Imagine if your life was turned upside down with the news that you are not going to get any better and the only chance of seeing your daughters grow up is to have a double-lung transplant. Well that was a real life situation for Brad and Nikki Swander. Brad Swander has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-26 14:05:17","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73033\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}