January 22, 2016 at 3:57 p.m.
'We support our Towne'
JWMS, PAC, classmates come to the aid of student battling liver disease
'We support our Towne'
By Kayla Thomason-
To start the assembly, the Towne family - who's eighth-grade son, Bobby, has Wilson's disease and is in need of a new liver - received a total of $2,289 in donations. The school raised $1,931 through hat and shirt fundraisers, its Parent Advisory Council (PAC) raised $331 through a popcorn and sports drink event, and Towne's classmate Lexi Morrison raised $27 through her church.
"Oh my God, I cried (when I heard about the donations)," said Patches Towne, Bobby's mother. "The support from this is just amazing."
"It's pretty overwhelming," added Bob Towne, Bobby's father. "It was a huge surprise."
The family, all of whom were dressed in "We Support Our Towne" T-shirts at the assembly, found out about the donation two weeks ago. They were aware of the hat and shirt sales but did not know about Morrison's effort or the PAC fundraiser.
Morrison's church, Immanuel Lutheran, has jars where congregants can leave donations for local organizations. Morrison asked that one of the jars be for donations to her ailing classmate.
"We've been in school together for a long time," she said. "(The school's support is) good (and) the fundraisers are going good."
In December, the PAC sold popcorn and sports drinks, with the proceeds going to the Bobby Towne fund.
"The school's participation in all this was phenomenal," said Rebecca Morien, PAC president. "The students just even came with pennies, an extra dollar here and there, because it went to a great cause that they so wholeheartedly believed in."
The donations will be used to help cover medical, travel and other expenses incurred while Bobby undergoes treatment.
According to www.mayoclinic.org, Wilson's disease causes the liver to not properly excrete excess copper. The metal then builds up in the liver, brain and other vital organs. Wilson's disease is treatable, if caught early, and those affected can lead a normal life.
While he awaits a transplant, Bobby's health has improved. His appetite and weight have increased and he has become less jaundiced, his family said.
"It's really cute, at midnight he wakes up to eat a bowl of cereal now," Patches Towne said with a smile. "Before it was like he wouldn't eat anything and now pizza bagels and cereal."
"And he takes advantage of that," Bob Towne added with a grin.
Bobby's improvement is a great sign.
"He's doing well on the (transplant) list, right now he's a low score so he's stable, which buys us time on testing for donors," he said.
While the search for a donor continues, Bob Towne underwent several tests to see if he could be a match for his son.
"Things look good for me to donate," he said. "I passed all the tests. I just want to be absolutely sure I'm not giving the dominant Wilson's gene back to him."
In a few weeks the family will get the results from the genetic testing, which will determine whether Bob Towne has the gene for Wilson's disease.
Bobby's mother said the family could not be more grateful for the community's support of their son.
"I really believe the support from all these kids is helping Bobby," she said. "I mean he's just doing really great and I believe it's from all the support and prayers and I'd like to thank everybody for it."
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.