Florida church seeks funds to bring Romanian woman to U.S. for operation

Roxana Otvos, left, poses with her mother Gabby Otvos

For more than a decade, members of Lakeland’s Southwest Church of Christ have visited Romania to share their faith with inhabitants of that eastern European country. 

Now, church members are working to arrange medical care for one of the Romanians they have befriended. And that means bringing the woman to Lakeland for surgery. 

Gabriella “Gabby” Otvos, 49, needs to have a potentially cancerous cyst removed from one of her kidneys, said Dr. Donald Langley, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Watson Clinic and a church member.  Langley and another congregant, Judy Anderson, are leading an effort to raise the money needed to cover Otvos’ transportation and medical costs. 

Langley said the group needs to raise $28,000. The operation itself would normally cost more than $60,000, he said, but under Lakeland Regional Medical Center’s charity care policy the cost is greatly reduced. Langley said Dr. James Wilson, a urologist at Watson Clinic, has agreed to waive his fee for performing the surgery. Langley said he hopes circumstances will allow the operation to occur by November.

Otvos’ husband, Marian Otvos, leads the Bucharest Church of Christ in the Romanian capital city. The couple’s youngest of three children, Roxana “Roxie” Otvos, 19, attends Florida College in Temple Terrace and spends most weekends in Lakeland with Anderson and her family.

Read the full story.