Annual radiothon expands Wings' reach

A nonprofit that raises funds for cancer patients’ expenses not covered by insurance has set a goal to raise $100,000 in the next two days in order to maintain its reach in the community.

Terri Dunn said that today and tomorrow, the 21st annual Wings Radiothon will seek to secure a chunk of the nonprofit’s funding for the next year.

“Last year, we gave out more than we were actually able to raise,” Dunn said. “If we don’t have a good fundraising effort this year, it will definitely impact our ability to assist people the way we have been able to.”

The Wings Regional Cancer Support offers financial assistance to Flathead Valley families to help defray out-of-pocket expenses like travel, food and lodging associated with cancer treatment.

Wings Treasurer Brandann Rohrer said last year Wings handed out roughly $210,000 in total to more than 100 families. In comparison, the nonprofit received roughly $170,000 for the year.

“Last year was the first time the organization had to dip into our reserves,” Rohrer said. “We’re really hoping that trend doesn’t continue.”

Dunn said while the nonprofit still has a savings, it may have to cut back the maximum donations each family can receive if it doesn’t reach its fundraising goal. Flathead and Lincoln County residents are currently capped at $6,000.

“We want to be able to assist as many people as we potentially can,” Dunn said.

GROWING PAINS for an 8-year-old are expected. But when Merrick Fairchild’s gums began to swell to the point where she struggled to eat, her parents decided it was time to go to the dentist.

“The X-rays showed darkness along her gums,” Renn Fairchild said about her daughter. “The dentist knew right away that it was more than a dental issue, and warned me about what it probably meant, so I got my freakout out of the way.”

After a pediatric appointment and an emergency trip to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, Merrick was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in which cancer takes shape in immune cells. The tumor is capable of doubling in size every 14 hours.

Steven Fairchild said while the type of cancer his daughter was diagnosed with is very aggressive and rare, it’s also incredibly treatable.

He said oncologists at Kalispell Regional advised that Merrick needed out-of-state treatment.

“We were just having to make friends with a lot of weird ideas, and bad things, right away,” Steven said. “Wednesday was the first appointment … Saturday was pack up the girls and watch them fly off.”

Within a week, the family’s life switched gears. They went from the kids spending summer weekends at Steven’s Whitefish home and weeks with their mom in Columbia Falls, to taking turns living between Montana and Seattle as Merrick went through chemotherapy treatments to survive.

The first month in hospitals, Merrick’s mom stayed with her in Seattle. Then, the parents alternated every two weeks.

Steven said as they began to realize the doctors and chemotherapy treatments were reigning in the cancer, the big fear became, “how are we going to pay for it?”

The hospital bills surpassed $1 million. Steven said he had good health insurance through his job at Super 1, so the family knew they wouldn’t have to carry the entire financial weight of Merrick’s treatment. Renn said the family also qualified for Seattle Children’s Hospital’s financial assistance program.

But then there was the cost of food and travel on top of weeks of missed work for both parents.

“There was the stress of what my daughter was going through, plus missing work and coming up with the money to balance everything,” Steven said. “That’s where Wings stepped in for me.”

Doctors predicted it would take roughly seven months for Merrick to be cancer-free. Merrick returned home about six months after her diagnosis.

“She likes to say she kicked cancer’s butt,” Steven said. “No one wants to go through this, but we’ve been pretty lucky.”

For more information on Wings or to make a donation, visit http://wingsnwmontana.com or call 406-257-WING.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.