Elgin church plans fundraiser for family’s medical bills

“Bread for Ed,” a fundraising banquet to help support Ed Kitners in his battle against an inoperable brain tumor, will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at Vineyard Church of Elgin, 220 Division St., Elgin.

Kitners, a Carpentersville father of five, is being treated at Burzynski Clinic in Houston, Texas, where an MRI in April showed that the tumor has responded well and is shrinking. Much of Kitners’ medical expenses are covered by insurance, but there is still a need for $3,300 monthly to sustain his treatment, expected to continue another six to 12 months.

Ed and Vicky Kitners were married in December 2008, three years after Vicky lost her first husband, Don Rodig, to heart disease. Ed had been a lifelong bachelor, self-employed in the building trades in Elgin. The Kitners’ marriage was only 14 months old when doctors found he had a brain tumor the size of a lime.

With no regular income and seven mouths to feed, the family is struggling to bear the recurring medical expenses. Friends and family are gathering around them to make tax-deductible, one-time gifts and regular monthly pledges at www.settingthemfree.org. An opportunity to make financial gifts also will be extended at the banquet.

The public is welcome to attend, and dinner is complimentary. There also is free child care for children ages 2-12. Please reserve a seat by emailing claudiak53@gmail.com.