When Hillary Clinton was First Lady, she wrote a book called It Takes a Village. While I haven't read it, the title, and the idea that it takes a village to raise a child really resonate with me.
Earlier this year, a first grade student in the kid's elementary school, Koan Pantano, was diagnosed with leukemia. Since his diagnosis earlier this year, he's undergone several rounds of chemotherapy and just last week received the stem cell transplant that gives him his best chance of beating cancer.
I cannot begin to imagine what this must be like for him or his family, but when good friends of ours started to plan a fundraising event for the family that will help them with the expenses not covered by their health insurance or the unexpected expenses that come from constant travel between their younger children here in State College and their sick little boy in first Danville and now Hershey, I didn't hesitate to support their efforts.
I'm simply amazed by the generosity of this community. Our friends, the Hildebrands, set up a web site through "GoFundMe", and asked friends and family for donations. Their initial goal was to raise $5,000. To date, they've raised more than twice that.
They've also worked tirelessly to coordinate a 4K race, kids activities and a silent auction under the great name Kids4Koan. I love this idea... Koan's classmates and their families coming together to help a friend. On my first visit to the site, I read about how Koan's teacher placed a stuffed monkey in his seat to both help the other kids understand where Koan was and to hold his place until he returns to school. I cannot read (or write about) it without a tear running down my cheek.
I'm a runner, so of course I signed up for the race. In fact, the whole family did. Matt and Cathy aren't distance runners, so I envision the event will go something like this... sprint, huff, puff, walk. Sprint, huff, puff, walk. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat. You get the idea.
Cathy, on the other hand, will only go through that cycle once or maybe twice before I expect her to turn toward me, extend her arms, and say "Mommy, can you please carry me?"
The other day, I spied a relatively unused jogging stroller in a neighbor's garage. So on race day, I plan to take that along to the park and set Cathy in it when she gets tired. This way, I should be able to finish in under an hour. Or at the very least, I'll have a legitimate shot at beating the boys!
Since I've worked with both Centre Volunteers in Medicine and the Bob Perks Fund's silent auctions in the past, I offered to help coordinate this part of the event. I've solicited donations in the past, so I was thrilled that other people were so happy and willing to go out and do that. Instead, I've organized bid sheets, bundled items, and will get the auction set up and closed down on race day.
I have no doubt that everyone who comes out to support Koan and the Pantano family will give generously and that the event will be a huge success... this family is living my worst nightmare and from what I hear they are doing it with courage and grace. When a child is sick, even when it's not your own, you hope and you pray for the strength that's needed for the fight. You hope that medicine has come far enough that this will be a bad memory in an otherwise long life.
Tonight, I also hope that Koan and his family sleep a little easier knowing that this "village" has their back in the one way it can.
So, come out and run. Or simply bring your checkbook and your own generosity.
Either way, I hope to see you on race day!
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