GALION, Ohio — Galion residents continue to show support for Melanie Wheeler, the sixth grade girl who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in October.
Angela Heckert, a family friend, said fundraising efforts are ongoing. For example, on Saturday, Dec. 12, Galion Middle School hosted a spaghetti dinner to benefit the family. The proceeds will go directly to the family.
During the dinner, guests could purchase handmade bracelets, #Melstrong shirts, car decals, hair bands and ties, and blankets. There were also yellow “cuddle bears,” meant to raise awareness for cancer in children.
For every two sold, Melanie will give a special bear to other children being treated for cancer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Heckert said Wednesday the family also has an account with Galion’s First Merit bank that is filling up quickly. As of Wednesday afternoon, the account had a little over $3,000, said Heckert. Since the bank account is private, First Merit did not release the exact amount.
And that does not include the money raised through Wheeler’s peers at Galion schools. In a combined effort, the schools raised over $7,500 for the family through Oct. 26.
Additionally, the family is raising funds through a GoFundMe page, which currently stands at $3,760.
Melanie’s father, Tom, has little to do with the fundraising efforts; so he was pleasantly surprised to hear that in all, over $14,200 had been raised to go towards the potentially steep medical costs.
“Every step of the way, there has been someone to help us with this,” said Tom. He mentioned Heckert and Erica Bauer, both family friends, who have set up most of the fundraising efforts.
“Those two are amazing, they’ve done so much — it’s unreal. The whole thing … there’s no way we could have survived all this stuff (without support),” he said.
Tom said he hasn’t yet received the medical bills, including the surgery to remove the tumor in her spine and the several MRI.
“It might take a while,” he admitted. “We have medical insurance but we’ll probably need all the help we can get.”
Senior Strategist Gina Bericchia at Nationwide Children’s Hospital was impressed by how much financial support the Wheeler family is receiving. She provided a link to the hospital’s pricing to get an idea on how much the Wheeler family can anticipate from medical costs.
“That doesn’t include all the expenses. There are so many you don’t even think about, so whatever the community can do will, I’m sure, help out,” said Bericchia.
Some of those costs, like that of an MRI scan can reach up to $3,600. Operating Room costs extend anywhere from $360 to $2,300 every 15 minutes spent in operation, with a $1,200 set-up charge.
As the Wheeler family waits for the bills, they also anticipate their appointment with oncologists at Nationwide Children’s Hospital on Friday, Dec. 18 with mixed emotions. The appointment will likely uncover a treatment plan for the remaining two tumors in her spine and the one in her brain, depending on the findings in the MRI, said Tom.
There is no rush for radiation therapy, however, he said. The radiation could cause more damage than the disease itself. The oncologists want to wait for her brain to develop while monitoring the tumors.
He said they could end up receiving treatment in St. Louis, Huston or Boston.
“She’s going to end up with treatment,” he said in an interview with Richland Source in October. “It’s just a matter of how big a time span between now and then that we can get.”
Melanie now attends school full time, with good days and bad days, said Tom. Last Thursday was a bad day, he said.
“She went through a spell of dizziness nausea, it was the worst one we had yet, since surgery,” said Tom. “It was scary for mom and dad, we were trying not to panic.”
Tom said Melanie missed school Tuesday, but was back on Wednesday.
In addition to the financial support for the family, there’s also a Facebook page with over 2,100 members offering supportive messages for Melanie and the family.
