January 29, 2014 at 4:41 p.m.
Family and friends honor Leanna Kossack by serving others at Dairy Queen
Family and friends honor Leanna Kossack by serving others at Dairy Queen
By Kayla Thomason-
People react to death in many ways. For the Kossacks, the loss of Leanna has fueled a determination to help other people who are fighting for their lives.
To that end, the family spent Tuesday, the first anniversary of Leanna's death, serving food at Dairy Queen in Rhinelander to raise money for the Leanna Kossack Sarcoma Foundation. Dairy Queen was chosen because Leanna worked there prior to being diagnosed.
The family was blown away by the community's response to the Dairy Queen event.
"I have been really, really, really impressed with the kids," Jaimie Kossack said. "These kids who are only 15 to 18 years old are not only donating dollars but $20s and $50s and I've been totally flabbergasted that the kids in our community have pulled together the way they have for our foundation."
The Kossacks put their sorrow aside to raise money for the foundation because it was what Leanna would want them to do, she added.
"To pick Christmas, Thanksgiving or the day she actually passed away, those days aren't any worse than every other day that we've gone without her, so like I told the kids, let's pull together and honor her instead of sitting at home and being sad about it. Let's go out and celebrate her life, let's go celebrate the foundation, let's follow through with what her dream was," Kossack said.
Leanna's coworkers Valerie Fielhauer, Stephanie Kuski and Rachel Harder, organized the Dairy Queen event for Leanna and her family.
"I just think that this is a really good thing to be helping out other kids and their families because it really is a hard thing to go through and it really helps out a lot," said Katelyn Browning, a very close friend of Leanna's for seven years.
Leanna was a very friendly young woman who always had a smile on her face, was great with the customers and loved to help out everyone who needed it, her coworkers said.
"We wanted everyone to know that we still remember her and we always will and even though a whole year has passed we still think of her every day," Fielhauer said.
When a child is battling cancer everyone thinks of the medical costs. Normally Social Security would cover that, but there is nothing to cover the cost of travel, gas, the special clothes the children need, hotels, missed days of work and other things, according to Jaimie Kossack. The foundation helps with that. They supply gas and shopping cards so families, who have so much on their plates already, can at least get a little bit of that extra worry off of their minds.
The Leanna Kossack Sarcoma Foundation would like to put together tote bags filled with books, blankets, stuffed animals, candy, and other things for the children to take their minds off their situation. The foundation would also like to focus on helping teenagers by giving them gift certificates so their families can keep them entertained while they are forced to stay in their hospital beds.
"People don't realize that it's not dying from cancer that's so hard, it's getting through it," Kossack said.
The Leanna Kossack Sarcoma Foundation has helped three children this year. Two of the children are now in remission.
"We're on a roll and it's not going to end," Kossack said. "As long as these kids are sitting there getting cancer our foundation is going to be there."
She shared a story from when Leanna was at the hospital and they saw a family with two boys who had cancer.
"(Leanna said) 'Boy mom, people do have it worse off than I do.' As a mom, to this day I am so proud of her and she is my hero. She was my best friend and I miss her terribly," Kossack said.
The next step in building the foundation is to ensure 501(c)(3) designation. Kossack said the family is currently looking for someone to handle the paperwork pro bono.
For more information on the foundation, contact Jaimie Kossack at (715) 550-0707.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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