Benefit planned May 5-6 for area leukemia victim

WHAT: Rummage, bake and vendor sale to benefit area resident Trisha Suits who will be undergoing leukemia treatments at the Cleveland Clinic.

WHEN: From 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 5-6.

WHERE: Guilford Lake Ruritan Hall, state Route 172.

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She was born weighing just a pound and eight ounces. But Trisha Suits is hardly a lightweight.

The courageous 30-year-old Lisbon resident, left virtually blind due to her premature birth, has taken on all comers throughout her life. Despite having only 2 percent vision in her right eye and none in her left, she has been a capable mom in helping to raise her son. She is a 2006 David Anderson High School graduate. Remarkably, she ran as a member of the cross-country team, memorizing her routes. “Just putting one foot in front of the other,” Trisha quipped, saying never fell. She later served as a Blue Devils assistant coach.

Now she is confronting her biggest challenge. She has been diagnosed with a complex form of leukemia and will be undergoing bone marrow and stem cell transplants at the Cleveland Clinic. Due to ongoing treatments, she will be required to remain in the hospital for six weeks. Then she will need to stay at a nearby housing complex for another 100 days.

Trisha was diagnosed in early March, after passing out from severe blood loss. She spent a month in the Cleveland Clinic getting chemotherapy. But due to genetic mutations, she needs bone marrow and stem cell transplants to combat acute myeloid leukemia -- a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of marrow.

According to her aunt, Melody Hobbs of Salem, her lengthy stay at the housing complex -- the Transplant House of Cleveland -- will cost about $75 per day for just the lodging. A donor has been found. Transplant treatments are expected to begin May 11.

To help offset the costs, a combination rummage, bake and vendor sale for Trisha will be held this Friday and Saturday, May 5-6, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at the Guilford Ruritans Hall off of state Route 172.

“We just need people to come,” Hobbs said. “We are trying to raise awareness to get more people out there. All the money raised will pay for Trisha’s lodging and transportation.”

Trisha’s ordeal is and will continue to be grueling. Admittedly, she gets bitter, angry and frustrated. The uncertainty is overwhelming.

“The really hard part of it will be being in Cleveland away from her son and family,” said Hobbs.

Indeed, Trisha’s said her hobby is being the best mom she can be for her son. Six-year-old Landon is a McKinley Elementary School student.

“I love my mommy,” he offered. “It’s not just my mom’s fight, it’s our fight.”

Trisha and her son lives with her parents, Rick Joy and Alice Loy. Her sister, Summer Burkholder, is a co-organizer of this weekend’s benefit.

The transplants offer a possible cure. Without them, it would be dire.

“God only gives me what I can handle,” said Trisha who has spent her entire life combating challenges. “But I am scared about what this is going to do to my body.”

Ongoing updates on Trisha may be found on Facebook. Visit: Trisha’s Fight with AML. To make an online donation, a link: youcaring.com may be accessed.

jdcreer@salemnews.net