MARYSVILLE Money doesnt make the world go round, but thanks to a local real estate office, it could help Karl Bielsers circulation.
The day before Valentines Day the Arlington sixth-grader was diagnosed with an enlarged heart that wont relax properly to pump enough blood. Its only 12 years old, but will have to be replaced, and Karls family will have to split the costs of the $500,000 heart transplant surgery when a donor with Karls rare blood type is found. They are $9,000 closer to their goal after a donation by the Marysville Windermere Realty office this month.
Windermere conducts an annual fundraiser in-house, collecting about $13,000 this year. After a couple donations to the Marysville Food Bank and another group, the office decided to give the bulk to Bielser.
The family was presented with a check for $8,775 at the Windermere offices weekly meeting earlier this month, where father John explained how their son was suffering shortness of breath this spring and how they assumed it was asthma. Bielser is a physical therapist at Northsound Physical Therapy in Marysville, and he told how they were all stunned to learn that Karl was afflicted with restrictive cardiomyopathy. In effect, his heart wont relax enough to pump properly.
We feel fortunate that he had the option to get a heart transplant sometime in the future, Bielser said. Its just a matter of monitoring and waiting. Moms been doing the tutoring.
Karl used to attend Pioneer Elementary School in Arlington and now stays home; the temptation to over-exert himself is too much, and so Julie is his schoolmaster now. A registered nurse, she monitors her son now and joked that her sons schoolwork seems to be more of a challenge for her nowadays.
It kind of rocks your world a bit, she said. He really should be in the hospital.
His family has already raised $150,000 through three fundraisers in Arlington: one at the high school brought $70,000 and another in a private home yielded $10,000, according to Julie Bielser.
The fundraising is going really well the community has really stepped up, John echoed, noting that he is used to be in the giving position. Id just like to thank everybody here. Its a very humbling position to be in.
If Karl is worried he doesnt show it; during a recent interview he bounced around the game room at the Marysville YMCA more interested in the pool tables than in talking about his ticker.
I would like to go back and play sports again and run around, he said.
When Windermere branch manager Dan Peterson presented the family with a check, Karl thanked the realtors.
Thank you everybody; I hope to see you again after my surgery, he said.
The recent November snowstorms gave him a reprieve from the boredom of staying at home, according to mom.
He got to play in the snow, and had a couple snowball fights, and hes got his buddies coming over to help half the time, she said.
Donations can be made to the cause at any US Bank branch, to the attention of Julie Bielser, DBA as Karl Bielser Fund. They also have a website at www.karlbielser.com, free registration required.