Fundraiser planned for Thongsouk
Kona Ice benefit to aid man battling kidney disease
A fundraiser to help support a Webster City man battling kidney disease will be held Wednesday afternoon.
The Kona Ice truck will be at Webster City Middle School, 1101 Des Moines St., from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 23, with proceeds to benefit Wong Thongsouk.
Thongsouk, of Webster City, has been battling kidney disease in both kidneys since May 2015. After years of dialysis three times a week, his kidneys only function about 10 percent. He and his doctors were preparing to put him on the waiting list for a transplant this spring when heart problems derailed those plans.
“He was sick and tired of being sick and tired and wanted off dialysis,” said Shylo Olson, an aunt of Thongsouk’s 20-year-old son, Braedin Thongsouk.
Wong Thongsouk had heart surgery on May 20 to have two heart valves repaired and everything initially went great. But later, his heart stopped and he was rushed into surgery again. The doctors were able to get his heart started again and decided to have him moved to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where he has been ever since.