Thursday, March 9, 2017

Benefit to be held to aid seven year old in battle against cancer




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.

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