HELPERS IN NEED OF HELP\Couple seeks funds for heart transplant.

Byline: R.A. Hutchinson Daily News Staff Writer

For 11 years, Rosemarie and Jeff Litoff quietly helped raise money in their community for causes ranging from the Newbury Park High School marching band to their son's Boy Scout troop.

Now they're the ones who need help.

With Jeff's heart ravaged by repeated heart attacks, the family finds itself turning again to its neighbors, this time in hopes of raising $150,000 required to get Litoff on a waiting list for a heart transplant. Without the operation, Litoff has about a year to live.

"It's very difficult; it's emotionally draining," Rosemarie Litoff said, sitting next to her husband, clasping his hand. "We've done fund raising in the community. You have to swallow your pride and ask for help."

To become financially eligible for the waiting list at UCLA Medical Center, the Litoffs need $200,000 to cover the first year of expenses associated with a heart transplant and follow-up medication. Their insurance, however, will pay up to a maximum of $50,000 annually.

"I'm not blaming anyone," Jeff Litoff said. "The problem with our health care is that you have to be very poor . . . or very rich."

He said state and federal agencies step in to cover costs for the poor while the wealthy can pay, leaving middle-income families that are under-insured in a dilemma.

Rosemarie Litoff said they find themselves with only a handful of options: Ask the community for help; arrange for a lien on their home that might help them qualify for Medi-Cal assistance; or seek a divorce that would leave Jeff Litoff with no income and thus eligible for government assistance.

"The divorce is absolutely a last resort," said Rosemarie Litoff. "Our first choice is fund raising."

As dedicated members of Temple Adat Elohim, they say ending their marriage - even if only on paper - goes against the family values in which they believe.

"We're very committed to our Jewish community. We work hard at the temple," Rosemarie Litoff said. "It's a big, big part of our lives."

The couple has asked for assistance from the Memphis-based Organ Transplant Fund, a nonprofit organization whose tax-exempt status allows donations to be tax-deductible.

"It gives credibility to our efforts," Rosemarie Litoff said.

Andrew Prislovsky, the group's patient campaign coordinator for the Litoffs, said an organizational community meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday at Temple Adat Elohim, 2420 E. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks.

"We exist to help transplant families. We help them raise the money for the operation. If they have insurance, we help them raise the 20 percent co-payment," Prislovsky said. "We just provide the technical assistance if they need it."

He said in the Litoff case, the family and the temple have experience in raising money and should be able to accomplish their goal of raising $150,000 in less than two months.

Any excess money raised by the Organ Transplant Fund is directed to the organization's emergency account, which is used to assist transplant victims across the United States if they're having trouble paying for post-transplant medication or additional medical services.

Jeff Litoff said his heart problems began about four years ago when he was 46 years old. He awoke at two o'clock in the morning with chest pains. He checked his pulse - normal - then looked in a mirror to check his eyes and skin color.

"My pupils weren't dilated and my pulse was normal, so I figured it was something I ate," he recalled.

The next night, he awoke to the same symptoms.

He woke Rosemarie, and they headed to the hospital. While awaiting test results at the hospital he suffered a severe heart attack. After performing angioplasty to open his arteries, physicians told the Litoffs that Jeff's heart muscle had lost 80 percent of its capacity.

"I had apparently been suffering for years from what they call 'silent heart attacks,' " Litoff said.

His only health ailment prior to then had been high blood pressure. Litoff said he took immediate steps to reduce the stress in his life. He cut back his work as a self-employed appliance repairman, he attended counseling sessions to learn how to deal with stress, and he started a strict vegetarian diet that allows no animal products whatsoever.

For five years, Litoff said he's treated each day as a gift.

"Now it's starting to go downhill," he said.

Their son, Brett, a 19-year-old student at Moorpark Community College, has taken on many household tasks to make it easier for his father.

"I don't let him do stuff anymore," the younger Litoff said. "This transplant is his only chance. If he doesn't get it, he might not be here next year."

Anyone interested in contributing to the fund-raising effort can do so by sending donations to The Organ Transplant Fund, Friends of Jeff Litoff, P.O. Box 766, Newbury Park, Calif. 91319-0766.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

Photo (Color only in Conejo edition) Time is running out for Jeff Litoff, who needs a new heart. Litoff and his wife, Rosemarie, left, are looking to the community for help. Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News