Nevada woman helps organize fund-raiser for grandson diagnosed with cancer

Friday, July 8, 2005
Above are two of the three dolls, hand crafted by Violet Adams, to be given away in a drawing at a softball tournament benefiting Tony Allen, who has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing continuing treatment at a Houston treatment center. On the left is "Caitlyn" and on the right is "Becky Thatcher."

By Lynn A. Wade

Nevada Daily Mail

At first, Tony Allen thought he may have been suffering from an ear infection -- but the pain in his head turned out to be from a much more serious source -- a brain tumor, said Violet Adams, his grandmother.

A 31-year-old resident of Fort Scott, Kan., Allen was born in Nevada, and still has relatives living in Nevada -- his grandparents, Kenny and Violet Adams. When they heard the news, his family rallied in support -- only to hear from doctors in two Midwestern hospitals that the tumor was inoperable and meant a bleak few months were all that remained.

"He had pretty much resigned himself to it," said Violet Adams, but family members talked him into getting a third opinion at MD Anderson cancer treatment center at the University of Texas in Houston.

"They said they'd do the surgery," Adams said -- which was performed May 27.

A golf-ball-sized tumor was removed, and follow-up visits scheduled.

News after surgery was bittersweet, and the waiting is difficult for family members.

Although there's renewed hope, there's also a possibility the tumor will return in an even more aggressive form. Two weeks after the surgery, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan was performed, but doctors have been unable to determine whether they were able to remove all of the cancerous tissue.

Nevertheless, his wife Ann, and their three small children, Kailee, 5; Garrett, 3; and Jackson, 1, and other family members wait, hope and seek ways to help one another.

Family members said that although Tony Allen does have health insurance, out-of-pocket expenses are enormous.

He's already returned to work as manager of Wildwood resort but the cost of future treatment lies ahead as well.

That's why they've gotten together to conduct a benefit softball tournament at 8 a.m., July 16-17, at Juco Fields in Fort Scott, Kan.

Several teams have already signed up for the event, with a $150 entry fee for teams.

The deadline for signups is July 14.

A home run derby with an entry fee of $20 and a horseshoe tournament with a $10 entry fee are also scheduled.

Drawings will also be conducted for prizes, including a Savage 270 with scope and hard case, a hand made child's log cabin play house, certificates good for $500 in restoration work, as well as three dolls that were hand crafted by Adams.

Tickets for the drawing will be sold at the event at a cost of $1 per ticket or $5 for six tickets.

For more information, call Kenny Allen, (620) 756-4151; Richie Allen, (620) 224-4766; Rocky Wheeler at (816) 803-2961; or Vicki Thornhill, (816) 297-4134.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: