by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Life for Dylan Roses and his family has become a long, tense, constant waiting game – waiting for that vital, precious, life-giving thing called a human kidney.
Roses, 16, of Rice, has end-state renal disease.
Currently, there are people undergoing tests to find out if they are a “match” for the kidney Dylan will need. In the meantime, Dylan, parents Glen and Dawn, brother Zachary and sister McKenzie are on tenterhooks, wondering when the call will come that a crucial transplant can be given.
Relatives and friends of the family are also in a state of waiting. They are trying to raise $30,000 to help pay for the transplant procedure as part of the Children’s Organ Transplant Organization, dubbed COTA, a non-profit national charity that helps families and cities raise money for transplant-related expenses. One of the upcoming fundraisers for the Roses family is a spaghetti supper from 2-8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31 at Benton Station in Sauk Rapids. Volunteers are still needed and can contact Dylan’s aunt, Shannon Westgard, at 329-248-9979 or swestgard@pfgc.com.
Born Sept. 27, 1999, Dylan grew into a highly energetic, outgoing, happy child who excelled at sports and loves nothing better than to be in the great outdoors. Unfortunately, Dylan has had to curtail most of his physical activities because of the lack of energy caused by failing kidneys. Three times a week, he must undergo dialysis to clean his blood, something his kidneys can no longer do.
Dylan is a student at Sauk Rapids/Rice High School where he played football and two years of wrestling and earned a place on the Honor Roll as a superb student.
It wasn’t until Sept. 17, 2015 that Dylan’s problem was diagnosed at Children’s Masonic Hospital. Earlier, he and his family started noticing physical problems, such as periodic bouts of dehydration he would suffer.
Dylan’s parents and others describe him as a very well-organized, good kid who can do whatever he puts his mind to, with maturity and diligence beyond his years. He was a state wrestler for the Foley Falcons wrestling team, went to state once and won a regional tournament.
This past year, he decided he didn’t want to play football again, which was just as well, according to his father, because – sadly – he couldn’t anyway because of his weakened condition. He had been a running back and tackle for the Sauk Rapids/Rice Storm team.
“His main concern is going to school,” said his father. “He doesn’t miss school.”
Dylan’s siblings Zachary, 18, attends high school in Royalton; he works at Subway and at Pine’s Edge Grocery, both in Rice. His mother also works at Pine’s Edge. Dylan’s sister McKenzie, 14, also goes to school in Royalton. Their father does construction work and handyman chores and redid the entire inside of Pine’s Edge Grocery when it was remodeled a couple of years ago. The Roses live in Rockwood Estates, near Pine’s Edge.
COTA
One-hundred percent of all funds donated to COTA go to transplant-related expenses. Since 1986, the organization has raised millions of dollars for thousands of patients who required life-saving transplants. Its helpers are dubbed “Miracle Makers.”
People can register with COTA to become organ or tissue donors and/or can also become one of the organization’s 100,000 volunteers or contributors.
To donate to COTA and to Dylan go to: www.COTAforDylanR.com.
Another way to donate is to send a check payable to COTA, with “In Honor of Dylan R.” written on the memo line, to: 2501 West COTA Drive, Bloomington, Ind. 47403.
To donate a kidney, a person must have type A or O blood. For more information, go to: www.uofmmedicalcenterlivingdonor.org.
Dylan Roses loved playing for the Sauk Rapids/Rice Storm football team when he was healthy.
Dylan Roses, 16, Rice, suffers from a kidney disease and will require a kidney transplant soon.
Dylan Roses relaxes with his mother, Dawn O’Rourke, during one of his medical treatments.
The Roses family of Rice includes McKenzie (front right) and Dylan, mother Dawn, father Glen and son Zachary.
