BY BRIAN DONAHUE
Staff Writer
East Brunswick EAST BRUNSWICK – The township’s emergency personnel will step up to the plate Saturday to score one for a local 8-year-old girl who has Ewing’s sarcoma.
The fourth annual Guns & Hoses softball game will pit East Brunswick police officers against the town’s volunteer firefighters and rescue squad members to benefit Mikayla Helmold, a second-grader at Frost Elementary School. The 10 a.m. game at Bicentennial Park, off Riva Avenue, will include a 50/50 raffle for cash, an LCD television donated by Gabowitz TV & Appliances, and numerous other prizes.
The prior year’s games – all held to benefit a given local youngster – have each been a big success, last year raising more than $6,000 for Allison Mee, an 8-year-old East Brunswick girl who had a blood disorder.
“We try to pick a child in the community that needs help,” said Patrolman James Angermeier, one of the organizers.
Mikayla was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in 2005 and later underwent three surgeries. She had the tumor removed from her ribs, and had prosthetic ribs implanted as replacements.
She has now been out of treatment for a full year, according to her mother, Mariana, who described the form of cancer as extremely rare, especially for a girl. Ewing’s sarcoma occurs most frequently in male teenagers.
“She’s had major surgery already, and she will have future surgery, at least once, as she continues to grow,” Mariana said. Mikayla’s prosthetic ribs will have to be replaced at some point in the future.
In another six months, Mikayla will be officially in remission, but she will have to be tested periodically for the rest of her life. Overall, Mikayla is “in great shape,” her mother said. The youngster has remained in school, even starting first grade last year with no hair as a result of her chemotherapy treatment.
The school community and township at large have rallied around Mikayla and the family – her parents, Mariana and Daren, Mikayla’s 6-year-old brother Daren, and now a baby that is expected in July. Last year, Frost students participated in a “Mikayla’s Lemonade Stand” fundraiser that brought in more than $4,000 for the Children’s Institute for Cancer and Blood Disorders, New Brunswick.
The support has been a welcome surprise for the family, which only moved to East Brunswick five years ago, though Mikayla’s father had grown up in town.
“We didn’t know a lot of people, so it really surprised me how the community came together. It’s been pretty amazing,” Mariana said, noting that many people wanted to help last year because they saw Mikayla and realized she had hair loss due to cancer treatment.
While previous fundraisers have benefited the New Brunswick cancer institute, the current efforts will help the family defray the immense costs of future surgery.
Mariana said the family is grateful for the help being shown by members of the East Brunswick Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 145 and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 98, as well as the firefighters from all three township districts and the first aid volunteers. She noted that seeing such an effort has an impact on Mikayla, as it would on any child.
“That the police officers realize how important and how serious this is really means a lot to us, because it’s very, very expensive when you have a child in this situation,” Mariana said. “It means a lot that the community keeps pursuing us, that people are still thinking about us and want to help us.”
As for the game itself, Angermeier said it’s just a fun day that’s not about who wins or loses (the police officers are 3-0, he acknowledged when asked). The nine-inning game tends to have plenty of participants – the firefighters and rescue squad members have had 80 players show up, enough for six sets of people who each play two innings.
“It’s not real competitive, but we have some fun,” Angermeier said, noting that refreshments such as hot dogs, soda and water are donated by local businesses. He said fire trucks, police cars and a new ambulance will be at the field for children to view.
To make a donation, contact Angermeier or Sean Taulane at (732) 390-6969 or write a check payable to PBA Local 145 (note on the check that it is for Mikayla), and mail it to East Brunswick PBA Local 145, P.O. Box 4, East Brunswick 08816.