CROSS CURRENTS : One little girl
Posted on Monday, October 6, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/69849/
“ No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. ” John Donne “ Community” is a word we use more casually than we perhaps should — unless we are truly ready to be “ part of the main” as Donne so aptly put it. Some situations, some happenings, even some beautiful blue eyes are what our “ main ” is really all about when you get right down to the core of matters.
One little girl, who is not even 2 years old yet, has looked out from behind her protective glasses and brought some of us in this community to our knees. Last Thursday, Northwest Arkansas Times reporter Kate Ward wrote about Fayetteville’s Eleanor Suttle, the daughter of Meredith and Clayton Suttle and little sister to Isabelle. If you missed the article, please go find it at: www. nwanews. com. The short explanation of what this child and her family have faced since she was 4 months old is simply, “ cancer. ”
No cancer is simple, but for an infant to have cancer in both eyes and then to undergo six rounds of chemotherapy at 6 months of age and in the following year also endure cryotherapy, laser treatment and carboplatinum injections — three rounds in each eye — along with anesthesia is certainly beyond what I think I could endure as an adult, much less as a child. And it is not over.
Bilateral retinoblastoma began because of Eleanor’s inherited genes so the tiny tumors in her eyes were probably developing while she was still in the womb. Discovery by her local pediatrician, diagnosis in St. Louis, and then treatments and follow-ups at St. Jude — the wonderful research hospital in Memphis for children with cancer and other diseases — have kept Eleanor’s family on the road fighting for her eyes and her life. (Pictures and the family’s journal can be found at http: // www. caringbridge. org / visit / eleanorsuttle. )
With the recent realization that the tumors have recurred, St. Jude recommended a move to one of only six proton radiation facilities in this country. This new use of radiation is more precise and fits the beam to the tumor.
Along with the body blow this news brought also came the devastating information that five days a week for five weeks of treatment and anesthesia will cost at least $ 140, 000 with half, $ 70, 000, due in about a week. The Bloomington, Ind., medical facility is unlike St. Jude where, “ All patients accepted for treatment... are treated without regard to the family’s ability to pay. ” Without insurance coverage for this particular procedure the family now faces dealing not only with Eleanor’s condition but the crushing weight of affording this chance, her chance.
Nothing angers me more about our once great, rich nation than the unjust struggle individuals and families must wage in the parallel fights of emotional and physical survival along with the battle of spending every moment and ounce of their energy figuring out how to afford life-saving treatments and travel. Any community worth its salt is put to the test of defining the roles we play with each other in such times.
The Suttles are co-owners with Jeremy Gawthrop of a fairly new and very good restaurant in town, The Greenhouse Grill on Archibald Yell Boulevard. Gawthrop began fundraising for little Eleanor last December by organizing a concert at George’s with help from friends, businesses and local musicians. Eleanor’s mom, Meredith, has been helped at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in learning ways to deal with the strain she must endure daily to help her baby. The church has also donated money from a rummage sale and plans a November fundraiser. Ways for people to make tax-deductible donations are being explored.
Over the last year, others in the community have donated help to the family in everything from massages for relief of tension to baby-sitting so the adults can have a little time off. Currently some local radio stations and newspapers are spreading the word, e-mails are reaching across the country and flyers are being spread around. A concert was held at Smiling Jacks last Saturday featuring three bands and all proceeds, including tips, were earmarked for Eleanor. A group wanting to help in another way gathered at Chili’s for “ Donate Our Profits Day, ” part of Chili’s 10-year, $ 50 million commitment to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, and while there, passed out flyers about Eleanor. Her daddy says another friend is setting up a PayPal account to make donating easy via the Internet, some churches and schools in the state have called offering what they can, and the Suttle’s families (who do not live here ) have poured their “ hearts and souls into raising money. ” There is also an “ Eleanor Rose Suttle” account at Bank of Fayetteville for donations.
But $ 140, 000 is a huge amount. Huge. And there is still a long way to go to just get Eleanor in the door of the place that can possibly save her eyes. Her cancer has not spread yet, and there is a good chance it can be halted at Indiana’s Midwest Proton Therapy Institute.
One little girl in this terribly hard and divisive time in our nation’s history is showing those of us in Fayetteville what it means to unite to help one of our own. Unique occurrences and characters, even babies, make a place what it is, not just the town’s buildings or even the changing leaves of autumn. And how we feel about each other, if for no other reason than we share space within our town’s boundaries, makes a location a home. Community as family, community as a circling of the wagons, community as “ a group of interacting organisms sharing an environment” is what we get when we join to form a special place and to do something that really counts. There are tests we must pass and dues we owe each other for the privilege of being both the creators and benefactors of a good hometown.
One little girl. Two blue eyes. A test of community.
Fran Alexander is a local resident and an active environmentalist.