The Zahn Family: Pizza Fundraiser Raises $6,000

Victoria Strong — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:00:01 +0000

The Zahn family, whose 5-month-old baby, Lucy, was recently diagnosed with SMA Type 1, helped orchestrate a fun and successful pizza fundraiser. Their dedication is all the more inspiring knowing they are in the midst of also processing the diagnosis, learning how to care for a Type 1 child, and had a hospital stay in the middle of it. We applaud the Zahn family for their tenacity and their incredible efforts.

Here is what Barbara Zahn had to say about their great event:

Lucy’s grandparents Jim and Jeanne Zahn collaborated with her great-uncle Dave to start a pizza sale to raise funds for Lucy and 5-year-old Lily, who has neuroblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. The youth bowling league of Eldorado got involved, selling over 1,000 pizzas as a group. The total amount of pizzas sold by the end of the fundraiser was 4,500! They had to order 1,000 pounds of cheese alone! Over 100 people showed up to help make and deliver the pizzas, which were put together in Charlie Becker’s shop. Thank you to everyone who helped get the word out about Brenner’s delicious pizzas and to everyone who volunteered their time to make and distribute them. Another thank you to those who decided not to buy pizzas but offered generous donations anyway. We raised over $10,000 to go towards treatment for Lily and finding a treatment for Lucy! We are happy to be able to offer $6,000 to go to Unite for the Cure, and we still have fundraisers in the works! Onwards to the CURE!!

Way to go Zahn family!!! This is such an uplifting story to see your community joining you in fighting for a cure!!!

The Zahn Family of Wisconsin Joins Unite

Victoria Strong — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:00:10 +0000

The Zahn family of Wisconsin has joined Unite For The Cure to help get Dr. Keirstead’s research over the finish line. Their darling baby Lucy is only four months old, but already this inspiring family is motivated to fight for a cure! They have fundraisers planned, a website built, and are motivated to be part of Unite For The Cure. And we are honored to have them! Here is what they have to say:

Our daughter Lucy was born July 9, 2009. She was developing normally, it seemed, until 4 weeks, when she stopped lifting her head. Everyone reassured us that all babies developed at their own pace, so we tried to push our concerns to the back of our minds. Lucy was never a big leg mover, either, but we thought she’d catch up. At her 2 month check-up, her pediatrician was immediately concerned with the lack of muscles in her legs and neck. She made us an appointment to go to the Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, and we went down there right away that night. We were there for 3 days while they drew vial after vial of blood, took urine samples, did x-rays and an MRI. Then they told us it would be 6 weeks for results and sent us home to wait. Four weeks later, on October 14, we met with the geneticist, who told us it was what she had suspected, SMA Type I, and that our beautiful baby would most likely not live to see her second birthday. The genetics counselor, bless her, gave us info on FSMA and a clinical trial in Madison. We found strong, faithful people fighting for their children, and learned about all the hope there was for treatment and a cure. We knew that we were in the right place, and that we wouldn’t take Lucy’s diagnosis without fighting alongside these inspiring people. There IS hope for our children; a cure CAN be reached in their lifetime! LucysHopeForACure.homestead.com

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The Zahn Family: Pizza Fundraiser Raises $6,000

The Zahn Family of Wisconsin Joins Unite