A benefit has been slated for the family of Travis Brandt, 39, of Sartell, who is suffering from a rare kidney disease requiring a transplant.
The benefit will take place from 4:30-7 p.m. Sunday, June 7 at Calvary Lutheran Church, 1200 Roosevelt Road in south St. Cloud. There will be a pulled-pork dinner, fixings, a silent auction and a raffle. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children.
Advance tickets can be purchased at the Edina Realty office in Sartell, next to the Blue Line Bar and Grill at the intersection of Pinecone Road and 2nd Street S. Auction-item and raffle donations can also be dropped off at Edina Realty.
In April 2014, Brandt was diagnosed with a rare form of nephropathy, affecting his kidneys. Five months later, the condition worsened, despite treatments with steroids, immunity-rejection suppressants and chemotherapy. All of it has been a financial burden on the family, especially since Brandt’s wife, Kathy, is unable to work due to a debilitating auto-immune disease. For 11 years, she had worked for Wolters Kluwer Financial Services until her disease forced her to cease employment two years ago. Both parents had no choice but to sign up for disability insurance.
Brandt worked for 16 years as a corrections officer for the Stearns County Jail.
The couple has two children – Sam, 12; and Ben, 11. Both are students at Sartell Elementary School.
Brandt will have to take immune-suppressant medications for the rest of his life, and the drugs are very expensive, as is the upcoming surgery, which is expected to cost as much as $300,000.
The lives of the Travis and Kathi Brandt family of Sartell have been made difficult by diseases that struck both the father and mother. Their sons are Sam (left) and Ben (right). A medical benefit for the Brandts will take place from 4:30-7 p.m. Sunday, June 7 at Calvary Lutheran Church in St. Cloud.
