Fundraiser planned for Roosevelt 14-year-old who requires second open-heart surgery

Friday, Sep. 30, 2016

ROOSEVELT — Ginger and Lewis Casper have been preparing for this day for 14 years. They have known ever since their oldest son’s first open-heart surgery, when Wesley was 5 months old, that at some point he would require another.

What they weren’t ready for was that the surgery would come just months after their youngest son developed kidney problems, and a year after their oldest daughter was diagnosed with autism.

“People are always coming up and saying, ‘You’re so strong,’ and ‘How do you do this?’ and I’m like, ‘OK. If you were in my position, you wouldn’t really have a choice,’” Ginger said. “If this is your child, and you’ve been thrown these apples, you just have to juggle them.”

The Caspers, members of Saint Helen Parish, were baptized into the Catholic faith this past Easter. Ginger was raised  in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Lewis didn’t practice a religion, but had told his wife that he would at least consider attended Mass, because he had experienced that while he was in the military. 

Wanting a religion that offered a relationship with God that her family would share, Ginger decided to investigate Catholicism.

Ginger contacted a neighbor from her childhood who is Catholic. The neighbor  put her into contact with Judy Guinn, who was active with the St. Helen RCIA program. 

“She wanted information, information, just like a sponge,” Guinn said. “She wanted to learn all there was about the faith.”

The second week that Ginger attended Mass, “Lewis came with me, and he’s been very active and religiously comes to service every week, and helps out wherever he can, and that was not happening with the other religion,” she said. “Just the fact that my spouse is participating gives me that extra connection with God, that we’re on the same page.”

Two of the couple’s four children, who range in age from 2 to 14, have been baptized. The Caspers plan to have the other two baptized as well.

Ginger finds comfort in reciting the rosary, she said, and the Sunday homilies often remind her that “there’s always somebody I could help, too. … I know that what I’m going through is temporary; that there’s blessings, that there’s something to be learned. Even if something bad happens, there’s something for me to learn from it.”

She also appreciated the comfort that she and her son received at the hospital from Monsignor Michael Winterer, who administered the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick before Wesley went in for a recent surgery. 

“That little bit of spirituality that we got in that moment made me think ‘everything’s going to be OK,’” Ginger said.

Wesley has had eight surgeries in his 14 years. Ginger, who had been told she would never have children, learned when she was pregnant that her son had a heart defect.

“They offered me a medical abortion, and I said, ‘There’s no way. God has given me this child for some purpose,’” she said.

After Wesley was born, his other medial issues were discovered, and “I literally prepared for him to pass away,” Ginger said. 

A spinal tumor had to be removed when Wesley was 2. Because of the spinal defect one leg grew longer than the other, and that required two additional surgeries. 

Earlier this summer, doctors attempted to do the required heart valve replacement with a catheter surgery, but were unsuccessful. They then planned the surgery for the end of September, but it was delayed because the hospital had an influx of babies in more critical condition than Wesley, Ginger said.

When she told Wesley about the delay, he said he wasn’t angry because “those babies need surgery more than I do. … I’m stable. I can wait a couple weeks,” Ginger said.

Meanwhile, doctors are trying to determine the cause of 2-year-old Smokey’s kidney problems, which have resulted in a restricted diet and a regime of daily medication and weigh-ins, as well as various medical appointments. At the same time, the family is trying to keep regular hours to help 8-year-old Ryann, who has autism and functions best in a structured schedule, Ginger said.  

Although the Caspers have medical insurance, it doesn’t cover the travel expenses they will incur while Wesley undergoes surgery in Salt Lake City. Ginger anticipates he will be in the hospital for at least a week afterward. Then for several years he will require regular checkups, starting on a weekly basis, Ginger said.

To help with the expenses, a benefit dinner with a raffle and auction have been planned for Oct. 15 in Roosevelt.

The community support such as the fundraiser has been tremendous, Ginger said, but “sometimes it doesn’t even have to be that big. Sometimes one of those moments when I’m, like, on the verge of tears, all you need [to do] is hug [me] and to say, ‘I’m thinking about you.’ Those are the moments that mean a lot, too; those simple little things,” she said, struggling not to cry.

WHAT: Benefit Dinner

WHEN: 6 p.m. Oct. 15

WHERE: Roosevelt Junior High School, 350 West 200 South, Roosevelt

TICKETS: Adults/$15; children under 10/$10

Donations to help with Wesley Casper’s open-heart surgery also may be made to the Casper Family Medical Fund at any branch of Mountain America Credit Union. For information, call RaSchelle Richens, 435-640-1280.