Rummage sale to benefit local toddler

A rummage sale is often more than just a convenient place to find offbeat treasures or to look for a great deal.

On Saturday, a rummage sale from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pima Butte Elementary School, 42202 W. Rancho El Dorado Parkway, will benefit a Maricopa toddler in need of out-of-state medical care.

Susan Lake, mother of 22-month-old Reiley Lake, said she is coordinating the rummage sale this month and a golf tournament in June to raise enough to cover the cost of traveling to and from a specialist in Ohio, the actual cost of the medical visit and any necessary expenses related to the trip such as room and board. Lake said she and her husband, John Lake, estimate that they will need at least $6,000.

Part of the reason for the visit is to help determine exactly what is causing Reiley’s symptoms which range from needing to eat through a G-tube to not being able to easily gain or maintain weight, suffering from a weak immune system and has difficulty speaking.

Lake said people are often surprised to hear that her daughter is so ill.

“If you are not in this situation, a lot of people just don’t get it,” Lake said. “Reiley is a beautiful girl, so people look at her and say, ‘What do you mean she has all of this?'”

Lake said responding to those folks can be difficult.

“I’ll say, ‘O.K., do you want to see her tube, do you want to see her scar?'” Lake said. “I have to remind people that not everybody looks sick on the outside.”

Even medical professionals are having difficulty putting a name or diagnosis to what ails Reiley. They’ve ruled out Rhett’s Syndrome and possibly a few other diseases which often display similar symptoms. But what they don’t know is what she does have.

That’s where the specialist in Columbus, Ohio, comes in, and then possibly a visit to a feeding clinic in Virginia, depending on how things go in Ohio.

Because he’s in real estate, Lake said her husband’s income has suffered in recent years. He’s taken up selling insurance on the side, but it still isn’t enough to support their blended family. John brings with him two children from a previous marriage, J.C., 8, and Alexis,12. Lake has a 9-year-old son named Ean in addition to Reiley, the one daughter the couple shares.

Before Reiley became ill, Lake said she had good insurance and a good job that helped keep the family afloat. After exhausting all unpaid medical leave, however, and because she is unable to work and keep up with all of the weekly physical therapy and other medical visits Reiley requires, she and her family have had to turn to public assistance.

It’s likely that the Arizona Cost Containment Health System, also known as ACCHS, likely won’t cover the expenses.

“I am just working on that premise right now,” Lake said. “We’ve got to get her there, we’ve got to rent a car, and we’re on food stamps here.”

Lake said she’s already checked into angel flights, designed to help medical patients get where they need to be at a lower cost, but discovered there is a long waiting list of people ahead of them. Because the Ronald McDonald house in Virginia is not set up for children with G-tubes, Lake said they’d need probably need to check into an extended stay hotel.

Lake said she realizes that the rummage sale won’t bring in enough to fund all of their needs. But it is a start, and a way to help get the word out about a benefit golf tournament for Reiley tentatively planned for June 14 at the Raven at South Mountain golf course in southeast Phoenix. Buy-ins to the tournament are $100 each, $80 less than what it would otherwise cost to play.

Although several people have committed to participate, Lake said she has yet to have a single person back it up with registration and payment. Unless they are able to secure enough players by May 1, they will have to cancel the tournament to avoid losing the $1,000 deposit the golf club required to hold the date in June.

“For it to be successful, we need 100 golfers and sponsors for the holes,” Lake said. “We need obviously 100 golfers, and can register up to 144. “We’re looking to get all 18 holes sponsored.”

For their $100 donation, each person receives a round of golf, lunch, use of a golf cart and a raffle ticket for a 42-inch flat panel television.

For $1,000, one can sponor one of 18 holes. The package includes a round of golf, four raffle tickets and a 3-foot-by-6-foot banner with the company’s name and logo, as well as a sign at the tee with the company’s name and logo.

If any money is left over after tending to Reiley’s medical needs, Lake said the money will go to Casey’s Children, a charity in Tucson that helps children with disabilities.

Lake said she hopes there will be something left to donate, because last summer when she could not afford her utility bill, Casey’s Children stepped in and took care of it.

“They agreed to collect all the money and such, because any money you take in is considered income and you could lose your benefits,” Lake said. “This is not income, this is for medical care.”

For information contact Lake at (520) 568-4275.

Submitted photo