Fundraiser to help Olpe child
Bobbi Mlynar, Special to the Gazette
Monday, September 26, 2011
A half of beef has been donated as part of a fundraiser underway to help a child recently diagnosed with two brain tumors.
Montana Cole, a third-grader at Olpe Elementary School, has childhood craniopharyngioma, a type of brain tumor that often strikes children, according to information from the Mayo Clinic.
She is the daughter of Joe and Carolyn Holland Cole and the granddaughter of Lavinia Holland of Madison and Corrine Frizell in Olpe.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to help defray the family expenses while Montana and her mother are at St. Jude children’s hospital in Memphis, Tenn., for the surgery to remove as much of the tumors as possible, and afterward, when they will spend six weeks in Florida at a clinic that will administer proton radiation therapy five days a week, sponsors said.
Earlier this month, Carolyn Cole posted on Facebook that Montana was tired from the days filled with testing.
“She missed home and family,” Cole wrote. “She just wants to go to school and be normal. She for the most part is OK. … Just gets scared every once in a while. Her smile is infectious.”
As part of the surgery, catheters were to be implanted in the tumors for drainage.
“(Craniopharyngioma) is not cancerous, but it can behave aggressively, damaging surrounding structures,” Mayo Clinic’s disease description stated. “Typically there are no symptoms in the early stages of the disease, making diagnosis difficult.”
Raffle tickets for the side of beef will be on sale during Madison and Olpe junior high and high school home football and volleyball games.
The winner’s name will be drawn at Olpe’s last home game on Oct. 14.
Tickets, for suggested donations of $1 each or six for $5, also may be had by calling Amy McIlvain, (620) 437-2630, or Megan McGuire, (620) 437-2358.
T-shirts have been designed for sale and may be purchased from the Olpe student government.
Donations also may be made at Capitol Federal Savings, 602 Commercial St.