Good news for a friend

The front page of this week’s edition of The New Prague Times tells the story of Ed Hrabe, a New Prague banker who has been waiting patiently for several years for a kidney transplant.

A story on Ed’s situation appeared last November in The Times, and was meant to let the public know about his health issues and to encourage people to get tested and consider being a living organ donor.

As this week’s paper shows, that hope has finally come true for Ed Hrabe. Many of our longtime readers know that Ed’s wife, Diane, is a former associate editor of this paper, having worked here in the 1980s and then returning to the paper about 10 years ago for another two-year stint.

We at The Times and Suel Printing Company are grateful that Ed has “found his match” in Ann Sletten. Ann’s selfless gesture to help Ed is a great example for all.

Dawn Odenthal, a New Prague resident who donated a kidney to a coworker two years ago, has become active in helping to find living donors and encouraging people to be tested. She helped raise awareness of Ed’s situation, and deserves credit for helping make this happen.

Ed and Ann’s surgery is scheduled for February 29. We ask the entire community to pray for them and for the success of this transplant. As Ed said in his story - in this community, “People pull together and look out for each other.”