By Danielle Wallingsford Kirkland
Easton Underwood, a student from Caldwell Elementary, has
been battling cancer since he was 2-years-old. At the age of seven, Easton is now
battling the disease for the fourth time. A benefit will be held in Easton’s honor
beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 11, at Goose Pond Civic Center.
Kim Hastings, along with her husband Josh, organized the
event.
“We decided to do this for them because Easton’s mom,
Keisha, is my cousin,” Hastings said. “I love her and her family with all my
heart.”
Hastings said Easton as first diagnosed with Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2012.
“Easton beat cancer the first time, and then relapsed very
shortly after,” Hastings said.
The day after his last birthday, Easton’s family learned
that he had relapsed and the cancer had spread to his bone marrow.
“We were devastated,” Hastings said. “We were not there
expecting to get any type of news like this.”
The benefit will help Easton and his family on several
levels.
“They need help paying their bills and have some mold in
their house,” Hastings said. “They need to do some remodeling where it is a
cleaner and safer living environment for (Easton). Jeff, Easton’s dad, works
Monday through Friday so Keisha can stay in Memphis (at St. Jude’s) and take
care of their baby.”
A singing will be held at the benefit with performers
Face2Face, Sugar Truck, Erica Cookston and Impact Teen Center from Skyline
Church of God.
There will also be 50/50, a silent auction, a live auction,
raffle tickets for items like a Yeti cooler, Alabama helmet, a smoker and more.
In addition, there will be concessions, kid’s games and face painting.
“I would encourage people to put themselves in their
situation if they had a 7-year-old son fighting for his life and all you wanted
to do is be with him,” Hastings said.
Hastings said Easton is truly her superhero.
“We were told the more the cancer comes back, the harder it
is to treat it, but our God is bigger than this,” she said.
No comments
Post a Comment