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Community rallies behind Spalding deputy with severe illness
Spalding County Deputy Heather Raper is facing severe kidney disease and needs a transplant after having one kidney removed.
SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. - Spalding County deputy Heather Raper is fighting for a life-saving kidney transplant just months after marrying her husband, as the local community rallies to support the newlyweds during back-to-back medical emergencies.
What we know:
Heather Raper and her husband, Jeremy, are spending their first year of marriage navigating desperate health challenges.
Heather suffers from polycystic kidney disease, an illness that forced doctors at Emory to remove her left kidney in August.
Her right kidney is currently failing and functioning at only 12%.
Due to these low numbers, Heather now qualifies to be placed on the kidney transplant list.
She has been unable to work at the Spalding County Sheriff's Office for a year because of her illness.
What they're saying:
Heather continues to experience intense discomfort as she awaits a transplant. "Yeah, it's still really sore," she said.
She explained that the pain shifts frequently throughout her body.
"And it shifts, so like today, this morning when I woke up from the pain, my whole left side was just cramping in my ribs," Heather said.
Jeremy expressed the heavy emotional toll the illness has taken on their new marriage.
"I guess that we're grieving what if she does go and trying to enjoy the most memories you can with her and enjoy it," he said.
What we don't know:
It remains unclear exactly when Heather will receive a new kidney or how long her recovery will take once a match is found.
The backstory:
Jeremy's proposal was anything but ordinary and relied on local law enforcement.
Fayette County deputies pulled Heather over one night, so Jeremy could pop the question.
Looking back at how quickly their situation changed, Jeremy acknowledged the difficult reality.
"It's not where you think you'd be at right now," Jeremy said.
Heather immediately agreed with his sentiment regarding their timeline.
"Right. You know. Not this soon into, not this soon into our life together," she added.
What you can do:
The community, including their church and employers, is stepping up with financial support.
A GoFundMe campaign titled "Help Jeremy and Heather Through Surgery and Beyond" was created.
So far, the fundraiser has gathered $1,300 toward a modest $6,500 goal across 10 donations.
"We're grateful. We're grateful for all the help and support," Heather said.
"Because this has been a very, very rough journey," she explained.
She remains optimistic about their future despite the severe setbacks.
"My faith in God is very strong that we're going to make it out at the end, that we'll be OK," she said.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from FOX 5 News, who interviewed Jeremy and Heather Raper and obtained videos of the Fayette County proposal and the Spalding County Sheriff's Office, as well as a GoFundMe page set up for the family.