Jewel Props Raise
Transplant Money
JULIE EDGAR STAFF WRITER
A
Troy jeweler is selling off
display props like necks
and hands to help a young
Southfield woman get a
lung transplant that could save
her life.
"I like the irony of it," said Tim
French, the general manager of
Sidney Krandall & Sons and the
uncle of 21-year-old Deborah
Schuler.
Ms. Schuler, a 1991 graduate
of Southfield-Lathrup High
School and a
member of its
marching band,
has battled cystic
fibrosis her entire
life. But it wasn't
until two years
ago that the dis-
ease took a turn
for the worse.
She developed di-
abetes, a sec-
ondary effect in
older "cystics,"
and her lungs be-
came infiltrated
with mucous,
making it very
difficult to
breathe.
The "living Deborah Schuler
lobe" transplant,
which transfers lung lobes from
healthy donors to her body, would
restore her lung capacity. With-
out it, her doctors told her, she
could expect to live another two
years. She is on a cadaver's donor
list, but the wait could be as long
as her life expectancy, she said.
But Ms. Schuler is optimistic
the transplant could be performed
in the spring, at the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center. She
would be the 49th recipient of
such a transplant, which costs in
the area of $200,000.
Mr. French, who is on a list of
11 relatives and friends who can
donate lung lobes, said customers
are always asking where they
can get the jewelry props, which
are used in showcases or window
displays to show off rings, neck-
laces and bracelets. When the in-
terior cases were renovated and
new props bought, another sales-
person thought of selling the old
ones to raise money for Ms.
Schuler's transplant. Mr. French
said there are hundreds of props
and no set price for any of them.
Store owner Stanford Kran-
dall, Sidney Krandall's grand-
son, was glad to help where he
could.
"I'd sell the carpet if it would
make her well," he said.
Mr. Krandall is outgoing chair-
person of the Michigan Cancer
Foundation Partners and a mem-
ber of the Michigan Cancer Foun-
dation Board of Trustees.
In the last three weeks, the
store has raised about $350. The
sale will con-
tinue indefi-
nitely.
Another
fundraising
group, Friends
of Deborah
Schuler, is sell-
ing raffle tick-
ets and holding
special events
to contribute to
the surgery.
The living
lobe transplant
is considered
experimental,
but Ms. Schuler
said she worries
more about the
risk to her po-
tential donors.
"I'm not afraid for myself, be-
cause I've been through a lot
medically," she said, noting that
she's been in and out of the hos-
pital for a total of about 10 weeks
during the past year.
Ms. Shuler estimates the cost
of the surgery at $200,000, some
of which will be paid by the hos-
pital, some by her insurance car-
rier. However, the cost of travel
and testing for the two donors
who are eventually chosen is not
covered.
Ms. Schuler said she is "over-
whelmed" by her uncle's concern
and the efforts of the store on her
behalf.
"The fact that Sidney Kran-
dall is doing this ... It's incredi-
ble that this big business
actually cares about me," she
said.
Sidney Krandall & Sons is lo-
cated on the main floor of the Top
of Troy Tower at 755 W. Big
Beaver, near 1-75.
See related story in "Health
Matters" Health Supplement
this week. ❑
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