Ronnie’s Burger is one of Wichita Falls staples when it comes to local restaurants.
Owner Ronnie Blanchard and his family are very well known and loved around town. Recently his son, Kyle, had to undergo a heart and lung transplant.
A majority of their time is now spent at Kyle’s bedside in Dallas, but the the outpouring of love and support from the local community has been nothing short of amazing.
Kyle’s brother, Ryan Blanchard said “Christian people have gotten together, people have just come to the restaurant and asked how Kyle is doing”
Since he was two years old, Kyle Blanchard has dealt with issues regarding his heart.
Kyle’s mother, Carla Blanchard added, “They did surgery. He followed up with a Pediatrician, a Cardiologist from ages 2 to 12 and they said that he was good to go
And he was, for 10 years, until he started showing signs of slowing down in January of 2015 and then four months later, Kyle was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension…. or high blood pressure in the lungs.
“To be honest with ya, at first we kind of, listening to the doctors, we didn’t realize it was actually the lungs that were the problem, we thought it was just the heart, ” Ronnie said.
And then the news that both sides of Kyle’s heart and his lungs were failing
Ronnie added “back in December 28th of last year, 2016, he developed an infection, we didn’t know what was going on, we just know he got extremely sick and he started running a high fever.”
For over two months, Kyle spent his days and nights in a hospital bed fighting an infection, then in April of this year, another infection hit…it was too much.
On May 4th, Kyle wasn’t responding to medication and had to be on life support, his only chance, a new heart and lungs
Nine days later, the gift of new organs came through
His family says he’s recovering well and getting stronger every day
In the meantime, Kyle’s younger brother, Ryan, has been holding down the fort at the restaurant and says the well wishes, prayers and support of his customers and the community will help pull his brother through.
You can help with expenses by clicking on this link https://www.gofundme.com/kyles-familys-extended-stay
