Emily Progin, PR and Communications Coordinator
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COMMUNITY RALLIES FOR RUSTBURG WIFE WITH HUSBAND IN MEDICAL CRISIS
How a National Nonprofit is Helping Alana and Roger Rudder Find Hope
RUSTBURG, Va.—The community surrounding Roger Rudder and his wife, Alana, is rallying to provide help and hope at a time of overwhelming need as Roger faces critical health issues and an indefinite hospitalization. Medical expenses are piling up as Alana is forced to put life and work on hold to care for Roger, but a national nonprofit is helping their community to lift the burden through an online medical fundraising campaign.
In 2017, Roger received a liver transplant to fight non-alcoholic liver disease through a living donor liver transplant from Alana: a portion of Alana’s own liver saved Roger’s life. The transplant gave Roger and Alana renewed hope for a healthier future, but on May 11, Roger’s health took a sudden turn for the worse.
While the liver transplant saved his life, his body’s response to the transplant left him with a previously undetected infection in his body and brain. The infection is currently causing confusion and hallucinations, and it may be life-threatening. As a result, Roger has been rushed to UVA Health in Charlottesville.
Alana has barely left her husband’s side. She must commute two hours each way to continue to work as she maintains their home and livelihoods. “My ability to work is limited,” she explained. “Every essential cost in our lives is currently in jeopardy of not being paid, from electricity and water to our mortgage, food, gas, and essential medical bills.”
The community is supporting Alana and Roger through a tax-deductible online fundraising campaign administered by the trusted national nonprofit Help Hope Live. Donations can be made online at: https://helphopelive.org/campaign/13327/
“Donations have already made it possible for me to stay at the hospital with my husband and travel back to our home,” said Alana. “Help Hope Live is literally keeping us from homelessness through their life-saving work. Having the financial support to hold our lives together gives me the chance to be at the hospital, fighting for my husband’s life. Fundraising with Help Hope Live gives us that chance to fight together, and that means everything.”
Alana and Roger’s local connections run deep: Roger was born in Lynchburg and his family has lived in the area since the Revolutionary War era. “He loves Virginia and Lynchburg and would never want to live anywhere else,” said Alana, who became a pat of the community as a Liberty University student 14 years ago.
Roger worked as a historian and re-enactor for the American Civil War Museum in Appomattox. Alana and Roger belong to Compassion Church of the Nazarene—“we consider them family,” Alana explained. “We both have deep roots here, and we absolutely love our community.”
The next steps in Roger’s journey are uncertain as doctors work to stabilize his body and provide healing. Future expenses will likely include physical therapy, home health care, medications, and caregiving.
Donations to the Help Hope Live campaign in Roger’s honor are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law, and all funds raised will be managed by the nonprofit to cover verified medical and related expenses. Help Hope Live verifies medical and financial need for every patient.
Help Hope Live is a national nonprofit that specializes in engaging communities in secure, tax-deductible fundraising campaigns for people who need a transplant or are affected by a catastrophic injury or illness. Since 1983, campaigns organized by Help Hope Live have raised over $165 million to pay patient expenses. ###
