UNION CITY, Ind. — A benefit for Irma Stewart will be held Saturday at the Union City American Legion, 409 W. Pearl St., Union City, Indiana.
The benefit will start at 11 a.m. with a bake sale, then there will be a golf cart/motorcycle poker run at 12:30 p.m. A euchre tournament will start at 2 p.m. and there will be food and fun to be had. Entertainment will be provided by Rockin’ with Rocky from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.
All donations and proceeds will go to Stewart in her time of need.
A candidate for a lung transplant, Stewart was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and has a very low lung capacity. She was diagnosed in December 2012 during a lengthy hospital stay.
“I have been ill since the middle of 2012 and things just began to get worse which is ultimately led to my being taken to the emergency room in Winchester and then transferred to Reid.” Stewart said. “I was hospitalized at that time for nearly two weeks and then stayed with my daughter Tina LeMaster for several months as I rehabilitated.”
Yes, she is on the transplant list.
“I have gone through a very lengthy process of testing and qualified for the transplant list,” she said. “It took nearly a year of testing and waiting. Finally got to the listing point, it is just a matter of being matched and receiving the call to go in to receive the transplant.”
Due to her illness, Stewart had to retire from working in Union City at Save-A-Lot completely.
“My breathing restrictions have kept me from doing simple day-to-day things too,” she said. “Due to the medications that I had to be on for my breathing it also caused me to have a hip replacement a couple of years ago as well. The high dosages of steroids had a huge effect on my hip.”
Stewart, daughter of the late Clyde Parton and Arabelle Kreischer, unfortunately will not be attending the benefit.
” I have a weak immune system and have to be careful to keep myself from getting sick and risking exposure to any illnesses,” she explained. “If I were to get sick, it would delay my transplant. My son, Chuck Stewart, daughter-in-law Kathy and my daughter Tina LeMaster and son-in-law Shane and some of my grandchildren will be there as well as many of my friends who have graciously put this together.”
She also noted that her daughter started a Go-Fund Me page for her. This was for those who wanted to help but could not attend any benefit. It can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/haqg4-irmas-lung-transplant