Former area student battling health issues
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
A serious bout with H1N1 set off an unexpected chain of events that will culminate this week in extensive heart surgery for a 13-year-old who formerly lived in the Lyon and Chase county area.
Talon Reust of Rosalia is scheduled to undergo surgery today and Wednesday at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.
He attended school at Americus and in Chase County and is the son of Dwayne Reust, who formerly operated Double D lawn service in Emporia and worked for Pony Express delivery service.
He is the grandson of Dwight and Carolyn Reust, formerly of Bushong and now of Council Grove.
Talon contracted H1N1 in September of last year. He then contracted MRSA, a virulent staph infection that is resistant to treatment. It caused his left lung to collapse and, during surgery, doctors discovered that the boy has a rare heart disease, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
Wolff-Parkinson-White is characterized by abnormal electrical pathways in the heart that cause a disruption, or arrhythmia, of the heart’s normal rhythm. People who have the condition are born with an extra connection in the heart that allows electrical signals to bypass their normal route and move from one chamber to another faster than usual, or transmit electrical impulses abnormally between the heart’s chambers.
An evening of activities has been organized on Feb. 14 by friends of the family, students and faculty at Flinthills High School in Rosalia.
“It started out as a couple of concerned parents that are all tied together with Talon, through either sports or just friendships that they’ve built over the years at school,” said Penny Schmidt, one of the organizers. “We just ran with it. We got the principal involved and it’s kind of just grown.”
Fellowship of Christian Athletes also has become involved in the fundraiser. The event on Valentine’s Day, scheduled from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Flinthills High School in Rosalia, will include a Monterrey dinner, silent auction, homemade baked items auction, activities for children and entertainment by the Flinthills primary, intermediate and high school music departments.
Proceeds from the activities will go to the Talon Reust Illness and Recovery Fund established at the Bank of the West, 405 N. Main St., El Dorado KS 67042.
For more information, call Penny Schmidt (316) 452-1504; Larry Gawith (316) 322 5558; Don Wedel, (620) 476-2215; Sharon Simmons, (316) 745-8772.
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