Saturday’s Dandelion Dash 5K to support transplant patients

    For some, running is fun. It’s a reward in and of itself to participate in a race. For many, many others, a fun theme or a good cause make it a bit easier to commit to lining up on the morning of a race.
    Though the Dandelion Dash 5K race has been incorporated into Holyoke’s annual Dandelion Daze activities for a few years now, this year it will be a bit different. Sponsored, again, by Holyoke Fitness Club and the City of Holyoke, the race will now be in support of a charitable cause.
    Holyoke’s recreation director, Victoria Timm, said that she sees many races that benefit some cause or another. That’s part of why it was so easy to get on board with the idea brought to her by Holyoke City Council member Kevin Scott. People like to run for a cause, she said.
    Scott, who received a liver transplant last September, approached Timm with a proposal to give a portion of the proceeds of the race to a fund that aids transplant patients. Timm — and the entire city council — liked the idea of giving back.
    Scott received his transplant at UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies, and that’s where he found a cause he thought Holyoke could support. There, the Transplant Patient Fund is a resource available to patients receiving a number of different transplants.
    Jenny Sanderson, who is a liver transplant social worker with UCHealth, explained that many transplant patients they see come from Wyoming and New Mexico, where there are no centers for liver transplants. That can lead to patients spending two or three months in Colorado, away from home, for a life-saving procedure. The Transplant Patient Fund can help them out if their insurance doesn’t cover travel and lodging.
    The fund also helps patients who find themselves in financial emergencies, such as not having the money to afford the copay for a necessary medication.

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