Golf outing to benefit seriously ill children

The golf event in Ringoes will help the families of Erik Zimmerman of East Amwell and Timothy Deignan of Union Township pay some of the medical bills for their children.

By: Linda Seida
   EAST AMWELL — All of the proceeds from a charity golf outing Monday will help ease the financial burden faced by the families of two local children who are battling serious illnesses.
   In five years of fundraising through basketball and golf events, the Shannon Daley Memorial Fund has raised more than $400,000 to aid the families of 20 children.
   "The good news is we’ve helped a lot of children," said Vice President Paul McGill. "The bad news is there are more children that need to be helped."
   With the sixth annual golf tournament next week at the Copper Hill Country Club, the fund hopes to raise $40,000 to be divided between the two families based on financial need, according to Mr. McGill.
   "One hundred percent goes to the families," he said.
   Timothy Michael Deignan will turn 2 July 23. The day he was born, doctors told his parents, Jennifer and Michael Deignan of Union Township, their baby suffered from Goldenhar’s syndrome. A helicopter whisked the newborn to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
   "His condition was described to us as an environmental (vs. genetic) disorder, vascular in nature that usually occurs in the embryonic stage of development," Mrs. Deignan said. "It occurred primarily on Timothy’s left side so he is missing an eye, an ear, his heart has serious defects and his hand is missing a digit. He also has scoliosis in his cervical and lumbar area."
   The toddler has a "very tough road," according to his mother, "but if you ever met Timothy, you would know why he was brought into the world. He is a happy, smiling gift, and when you meet him, you won’t be able to resist smiling, too."
   Timothy has spent much of his short life confined within a hospital’s walls. He was hospitalized for three months after his birth and never discharged for longer than about four months at a time. Outpatient appointments average one per week.
   "Unfortunately, our insurance doesn’t cover any nursing at home, and all the professionals believe we need some," Mrs. Deignan said.
   Even planned surgeries do not go as expected.
   "Just recently, he was having surgery for his eye reconstruction and adenoid removal, but when they got in there, they realized that due to his jaw, the airway was obstructing," Mrs. Deignan said. "The team recommended a tracheotomy. Timothy has never gotten past 13 pounds since he was born, even with a feeding tube since birth. So because he was straining to breathe, mainly at night, we decided to go ahead with a tracheotomy."
   An East Amwell family is the fund’s other designated recipient.
   Erik Zimmerman Jr., who just completed his freshman year of high school, is the son of Norma and Erik Zimmerman Sr. He was diagnosed at the age of 17 months with medulloblastoma, a cancer of the brain and spine.
   "We were told that they had a lot of success with this type of cancer with older children," Mrs. Zimmerman said. "With infants, the odds were not good."
   Erik underwent radiation and chemotherapy. The long-term effects of those treatments required Erik to undergo brain surgery last summer.
   "His latest problem started about four years ago when he had a mini stroke," Mrs. Zimmerman said. "It was discovered that the radiation he received 13 years ago was now showing up with the blood vessels in his brain. The right side was much worse, and he needed surgery."
   Erik will undergo more tests Tuesday to determine when additional surgery will be performed, this time on the left side of his brain.
   Like the Deignans, the Zimmermans have health insurance but it does not cover all that is needed, including Erik’s hearing aids.
   The Shannon Daley Memorial Fund is named in honor of a child who died in 2000 at the age of 5 months from cardiac myopathy. Its mission is to assist residents within a 30-mile radius of Readington Township who are experiencing financial hardship due to illness, death or extreme conditions.
   Shannon’s father, Tom Daley, plays in the Readington Township Men’s Basketball League. When she died, his neighbors and friends wanted to create a charity in her memory.
   The first fundraising event was a basketball game held at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington. Mr. Daley’s team played against former NBA players who volunteered their time.
   Individual players and foursomes are invited to participate in Monday’s outing. More than 140 golfers have signed up for the event so far, paying an entry fee of $195 per person. The fee includes golf, cart, lunch, dinner, an open bar during dinner, awards and prizes.
   To purchase tickets, call (908) 534-0692 or (908) 534-2823.
   Donations may be made to the Shannon Daley Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 1271, Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889.
   For questions or more information, e-mail Paul McGill at [email protected] or call him at (609) 282-8513.