Rachael Ward is 27 years old and lives in Salem, Virginia with her young son, Andrew. She is the niece of Andy Leitzinger, a URS Ft. Washington employee. Rachael is in desperate need of a heart transplant. She began having heart problems consistent with congestive heart failure. It was determined that she had a cardiac aneurysm where the heart wall weakened, thinned out and ballooned, making it impossible to pump blood properly. She underwent emergency open-heart surgery to graft a mesh material to prevent the aneurysm from rupturing. Since the surgery, she has recieved blood transfusions a couple of times a week to keep her alive until she can recieve a donor heart.
We are raising money for Rachael to help her with the burden of co-payments, weekly treatments and transfusions, and travel expenses to and from the UVA Hospital. Any help that can be provided would be tremendously appreciated!