Steinar Needs Us and a Kidney

Dear Friends and Family of Steinar, and those strangers who read the following and become friends through generosity:

It's hard to gauge how much a person has positively affected others over a lifetime, but when I think about Steinar, it's easy to see his impact on his family & all those he meets. My name is Joanie Hathaway and I’ve known Steinar for 40 years because he married my best friend, Melody. They met on stage performing The King and I; Steinar was the King, Melody was Anna. The match was perfect! Both were actors, vocal artists, musicians. Both shared their faith in God, a love for the outdoors and travel, and love for Melody’s kids, Isaac and Heather.   

Now, if you know Steinar in any capacity and I tell you that we are raising money for Steinar's life-giving kidney transplant, you’ll read no further and give. I know this, because if Steinar is part of your life either personally or professionally, you have enjoyed and benefitted from his kindness, talent, generosity, wit, and wisdom. He is gentle and faithful, still tending relationships with childhood friends, siblings, and cousins. He is a giving man who serves others with his sincere friendship, and his skill set as an electrician and general builder. Anyone who has the joy of knowing him is already inclined to love and support him. So please do. We are attempting to raise $35,000. Here’s why.

Steinar’s kidney function is life-threateningly low, so he recently began home dialysis. Though he will not complain (much), this is a life-changing and tedious process. He is hooked up 5 nights a week to a machine that works all night to detox his body—Steinar & Melody are so grateful for this life-saving technology. However, dialysis leaves a person with less energy and a strikingly decreased capacity for work and other daily activities. Steinar is engaged in the process at Stanford for a kidney transplant, is on the list for a kidney, and needs to be ready at any time to travel quickly to Stanford when a suitable donor kidney becomes available. As you can imagine, his ability to work full-time has diminished, and the financial need begins here. 

Once a kidney is found, and a transplant is performed, Steinar will be required to live near Stanford for a minimum of 6 weeks for close medical observation and care. His primary care-provider and wife, Melody, will also need to be with him in the Bay Area, providing after-care support. Steinar will have a long recovery and not be able to work for 6 to 12 weeks, most likely longer, and neither will Melody. Our goal is to raise enough money to cover the loss of income, as well as help with their expenses during the recovery period. Steinar and Melody will need to live near Stanford, one of the most expensive areas in California for housing. So, we’re also praying for a generous home-owner or vacation-home-owner to volunteer a place. You know the rest—food, utilities, gas, monthly bills back home, and care for Finn and Frank while their owners are away. 

If you do not know Steinar, I will go on. First, you’ll need to know that Finn and Frank are their beloved pups. You should also know he’s the kind of man who adores his wife’s children and stepped in to help raise them right from the start. They love him as their own true father, and were even legally adopted by him as adults so they could have his name. He is an attentive, proud, and invested grandfather to 5 wonderful grandkids, who would attest to experiencing Steinar’s unconditional love, his humor, and his generosity. Steinar has gotten even better with age. He is rugged, takes great care of himself, eats right and exercises daily. A true renaissance man with Montana roots, Steinar is a passionate pianist, choral singer, nature-lover, golfer, camper, and avid fly-fisher.

My personal experience of the impact of Steinar’s life is his hospitality and support for me and my 4 children. After my husband’s early death, Steinar served as a strong male role model in my kids’ lives, and specifically to my daughter who has rented a room from the Svennungsens through college and a bit later. Their place has always been second home to my entire family (but that’s really a small thing for them. Strangers have often found themselves sleeping over and eating from Melody’s kitchen.) My oldest son said he will never know anyone like Melody and Steinar. His childhood is riddled with long stays in their home during summers, and the magic of Steinar’s piano playing and humor, and Melody’s cooking. Steinar has bridged the need of a loving, strong male influence for my kids since their father’s passing. I cannot thank God enough for who Steinar is. 

I could go on, but I will let pictures speak the rest.

Please, and most importantly, be praying for both Steinar and Melody. Again, if you know Steinar, he is comfortable in giving, but not comfortable in asking for support. This whole process has been challenging in layered ways, but God is leading and loving them through it. Thank you for joining us as we walk with the Svennungsens through this time. 

We will update you as Steinar waits on the call that says a kidney is ready.

Sincerely, Joanie Hathaway