Imua Ruthie Mersburgh

Aloha Ohana!!

On behalf of Daniel and Charlene Mersburgh and with their permission, we have created a GoFundMe account to support Ruthie Mersburgh.

Ruthie just turned 22 years old in October and is in need of a lung transplant. Her extensive lung damage from cancer treatment she received at age 4 ½ years old has also been taxing on her heart causing a possible second need.

She was accepted into University of California San Diego Transplant Center and was air transported via Medivac on Wednesday, November 22. She arrived safely and now the arduous and lengthy transplant evaluation process will begin. Daniel and Charlene are on their way to San Diego to setup a support structure to navigate through the overwhelming process and paperwork that occurs in this lifesaving miracle. Ruthie was flown from North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea to Queens and then transferred to their Cardiac ICU. Once the acceptance call came in from the University of California San Diego, she was transferred in 4 days. This is nothing sort of a miracle.

This young lady is a cancer survivor, children’s advocate for cancer, a spokesperson for the Ronald McDonald House in Hawaii and a warrior for so many and just an amazing person overall.

Back in 2006, at the young age of 4 ½ years old, Ruthie was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma, non MYNC amplified. Ruthie has been cancer free. However, due to all the radiation and chemotherapy throughout her battle, various internal organs, like her lungs and heart have been affected. Ruthie has been required to have 24/7 oxygen and recently visited her older sister in Washington and her amazing nephew and niece. Prior to her return, she was not feeling well and in recent weeks her lungs have not been properly functioning. This caused some heart issues and she was brought to Queen’s hospital for upgraded care and a lung transplant was made a high priority.

Her parents Daniel and Charlene live in Kona, her brother Thomas returned home to Kona a few years back and her sister Rebekah lives in Washington. The Mersburgh family has been through a lot over Ruthie’s 22 years and head into this new challenge with faith in God, joy in each other and many many prayers of family and their extended ohana.

Please support her in this journey and we mahalo you all in advance for your support.

Imua Ruthie, we stand alongside you and love you very much!