Sanpete Gives Back

My amazing sister Ashley and her amazing friend Erin put together an all night softball tournament for their cute friend Amberly that has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. All proceeds from the tournament went to Amberly's family. Channel 4 News did a news report about her and they got a lot of donations from that as well. Last I heard they raised over $15,000! Not to mention the Skymiles and Disneyland tickets that were donated for their family trip! They were able to put this together in just 3 weeks! It was so much fun to go down and support a great cause. They plan on making this an annual event and the community gets to nominate a family for the next year. They got so many volunteers and donations. It was a blast!

Luke played in the Golf Tournament at Palisade Friday and Saturday. He came and hung out for awhile. He ended up taking 4th at the tournament. I got to watch him play on Friday. I have been to Palisade to play in the lake so many times and never been on the golf course. It was a good time.

Grandma and Avrie loving a watermelon shave ice.

Ashley and Avrie. Avrie was ready to go home by 9.

Brook and Colton with their new puppies.

Ashley and Erin Saturday morning. These guys are troopers. They were up all night and maybe only slept for about 15 minutes. It was so funny watching them the next day. I went to bed at 11:30 and felt like I had been up all night. I must have had sympathy sleep withdrawals for everyone that stayed up all night.

Old McDonalds Buddies. Avrie loves to get a cheeseburger and she shares her pickles with Grandma.

A little tired? Yes!

haha

The winners!

Kevin cleaning up.

Chatting with Amberly after it was all over.

Erin and Ashley

Hugs from Amberly

Here is the story from The Sanpete Messenger about Amberly.
EPHRAIM–When you start out to write a story about someone with stage four pancreatic cancer, you expect to be writing a story about death. After about five minutes speaking with Amberly Rhodes, you come to understand this is a story about living - and a community who wants to help with this wish.
In August of last year Rhodes suspected she had gall bladder problems as it ran in her family. An ultrasound and further tests found no gall bladder problems, but rather a neuro-endocrine tumor in her pancreas.
She underwent surgery in September to remove the tumor and half of her pancreas. The type of cancer she has is slow growing; however, since it was diagnosed in stage four, there are no further treatment options.
Rhodes says she “has lots of hope and is taking the very best care of herself as possible”. She makes sure her nutrition is excellent and she exercises regularly. Although she is very positive, she is also pragmatic. In April, routine tests showed the cancer had progressed and doctors have told her about 40% of people with her type of cancer pass away within five years.
She says “some days are hard, some days sad, but you have to keep living”. She says “attitude has so much to do with it, if you just give up, that’s it”. If there is one thing Rhodes would like people to know it’s “that if you have cancer, no matter what stage, you must have hope and you must keep living. Do everything you can to live”.
Being pragmatic, Rhodes sat herself down and wrote a “bucket list” of thing she wanted to do. It’s a very practical list, and includes simplifying and organizing her house, going to the LDS Temple more, getting her scrapbooks up to date, and catching up on her journals. It also includes visiting the Museum of Art in Washington, going to Hawaii with her husband, and a dream of going to Disneyland with her husband Jason, and their four boys.
Enter Erin Madsen, Rhodes’ best friend. Madsen says she “couldn’t deal with all the bad news in April and wanted to find something that would turn all the negativity into something positive”. Madsen’s husband played softball and she knew each team had to pay a registration fee. “Why not have an all night baseball tournament and have the registration fee go towards the Rhode’s family Disneyland trip” she reasoned.
And, according to Madsen “it just took on a life of its own”. Sanpete County did one of the things it does best, and that’s come together to help one of its own.
There are twenty teams signed up, the maximum they could fit in the schedule. Mike Barton, of iFour Media donated his time and expertise in creating the logo “Sanpete Gives Back”. Russ and Tracy Newsome of T & R Sports jumped at the chance to give back to the community with a donation. Other businesses and private citizens donated big ticket items for the raffle also.
Dave Parrish offered breakfast food from McDonalds for the Saturday morning community breakfast. Ephraim City stepped up to the plate with no charge for the fields or electricity for the all night event. Neighbors by the ball field have waived the midnight curfew for the fields. Marriott points and frequent flyer miles have found their way into the project.
The Utah Jazz donated jerseys, and the Salt Lake Bees donated tickets for the raffle.
The response has been so over-whelming that it’s both Rhode’s and Madsen’s hope this event will turn into an annual fundraiser for others who could use a helping hand. Rhodes fully plans on helping organizing the all night tournament next year for another recipient.
“I wish it wasn’t all focused on me, but I look forward to being able to help someone in the future. It’s not like we’re destitute or anything” says Rhodes who along with her husband owns the Pizza Gallery in Ephraim. However, the medical bills are steep even with insurance, and not having to worry about the costs of the Disneyland trip is one less detail to worry about.
The Rhodes family has planned the agenda for the Disneyland trip already. The family has gone camping, but this is the first real vacation they’ve had. It will be a first for their boys to fly in an airplane, stay in hotels, and eat all their meals in restaurants. It’s hard to talk with Rhodes about the trip and not catch her excitement.
Rhodes, along with Madsen, feel the most important story is the way people in Sanpete are so willing to help. According to Rhodes, it’s not just been the tournament. She says “it has not stopped since August. Her ward members and neighbors have brought meals, books, and tended her children when needed. It just has not stopped”.
To Rhodes, her neighbors and ward have come to feel a part of her family. She is grateful that for her mother, who lives in Sandy, it helps her feel her daughter is taken care of. Her parents are coming to Ephraim for the tournament and her father, three sisters and a brother will be playing softball.
The tremendous response from Sanpete has changed both women’s life. For Madsen, it has helped her realize just how many wonderful people there are in Sanpete. Rhodes says “I feel so loved, and will forever think twice about saying no. She hopes she will be the first one to extend a hand in the future”.
In the meantime, Rhodes will keep her attitude as positive as possible. She says “no one knows how long we have, but when it’s right in your face you start figuring out what’s important”. She “hates it when they tell you how long you have, no one has an expiration date”.
The tournament will held Friday, May 21 beginning at 7:00 p.m. The teams will play all night, with the championship game expected to begin around 2:00p.m. on Saturday, May 22.
A community breakfast is scheduled at the Ephraim ball park Saturday from 6:00 a.m. till 10:00a.m., or until the food runs out. Raffle tickets can be purchased at the ballpark and the raffle will be held at the breakfast. Any donations can be made to the "Sanpete Gives Back" account at any Far West Bank.