By Rick Bella
The Oregonian
PORTLAND, Ore. — Clackamas County nonprofit organization has established a fund to benefit a community corrections officer who needs a kidney transplant after developing a severe autoimmune disorder.
The Clackamas County Peace Officers’ Benevolent Foundation is collecting money on behalf of Officer Nathan Seitz, who has lost most kidney functions to IgA Nephropathy -- also known as Berger’s disease.
Seitz, 29, has worked for seven years for the Women’s Corrections Substance Abuse Program at residential services. He is described as an active community member, participating in athletics, coaching and youth basketball in Happy Valley, while mentoring youth at his church.
The disease advanced quickly over the past several months. Physicians now say Seitz is in Stage 5 kidney failure.
“He’s a super-athletic guy and he’s a super-likeable guy,” Sheriff Craig Roberts says in an online video posted this week. “Unfortunately, he is facing a severe medical condition.”
Money raised for the Officer Nathan Seitz Fund will be used to help Seitz and his wife with medical and living expenses after he exhausts his county benefits. It is expected that Seitz will be off work for about eight months.
Tax-deductible donations can be made by mailing a check to: CCPOBF, P.O. Box 426, Oregon City, OR 97045. The check should be payable to CCPOBF, with “Officer Nathan Seitz Fund” in the memo line.
Donations to the Officer Nathan Seitz Found, under the Clackamas County Peace Officers’ Benevolent Foundation, also can be made at any branch of Clackamas Federal Credit Union.