Coffee Pot fundraiser to benefit man with brain cancer
CAVE SPRING–“When they diagnosed him with this kind of brain tumor, they said the average survival rate was five years. But he’s beat a lot of odds,” Rhonda Skelton said. “We told the doctors, ‘He doesn’t have an expiration date stamped on his foot.’”
So far her husband Travis Skelton is beating the average. This May will be his five-year anniversary of being diagnosed with brain cancer, a deadly tumor that leaves “tentacles” in the brain so that it grows back over and over again. Yet Skelton is still doing well: even with a brain tumor, he is still able to function. Yes, he drags his leg when he walks; he has seizures. Sometimes his thoughts go in circles, and he has days where he seems to be dyslexic. Yet he still has that sense of humor.
“Two more holes in my head and I’d be a bowling ball,” his t-shirt reads. “Proud brain cancer survivor.”
Yet even though Skelton is still doing remarkably well, his family’s finances are not. LewisGale and the UVA medical center have run out of options for him, and he has had to turn to Duke University medical center for help. Without a reliable car, and with an insurance company fighting him every step of the way, things have become dire for the former Salem resident, who now lives in Boones Mill. That is why his step-daughter Megan White has organized a fundraiser for him at one of his favorite hang-outs: the Coffee Pot.
“In the past no one could tell he even had a cold. He stood tall, strong, and [joked] about…not having an excuse to not remember anything. In the past 6 months or so he has begun having to fight harder,” White said on her Facebook page promoting the event. “I have taken it upon myself to start a fundraiser for my step-dad, mom, and brother. I can no longer just sit back and watch them suffer.”
When she decided to hold a fundraiser to help them with the bills, she knew that the obvious place was the Coffee Pot Roadhouse, located on Brambleton Avenue in Cave Spring.
“That was one of his original hang-outs,” White said.
Before he was diagnosed with cancer, he used to love to visit the Coffee Pot and sing Rocky Top Karaoke with all of his friends. Yet in May 2006, when he hit his head and passed out in a work accident, and the standard CAT scan for a concussion revealed a tumor, his fun-filled life faded to the background.
Two days after they found the tumor, LewisGale performed surgery to remove it. With chemotherapy and radiation, Skelton was able to go back to work.
“The tumor stayed away for quite some time,” Rhonda Skelton said.
Then in August 2007, his MRI results showed the tumor had indeed returned, just as the doctors had predicted. The tumor is one with “tentacles”, meaning it leaves small traces in the brain that cannot be removed, causing it to grow back over and over. He had another surgery in February 2008 to remove the tumor, which was in the same area. Now they have run out of options. Another surgery in that area of his brain could paralyze him. So unless the cancer symptoms become as bad as paralysis, surgery isn’t a viable option. For now, they can only continue with the chemotherapy and anti-bodies.
“Now they’re trying to stop the growth, stunt the growth, or shrink the growth,” Rhonda Skelton said. “But it’ll always be there. This is one that does keep coming back,”
For now, the medication and the doctor’s treatments are helping Skelton survive. Yet the Skeltons, who have been married for 12 years and have an 11-year-old son named Ben, are struggling to pay for all of the costs.
“The last five years have put a big strain on us,” Rhonda Skelton said.
“I’ve always done cancer walks for other people, but have never really asked for help for myself,” Travis Skelton added.
Yet once he and White finally admitted their need, people have been stepping up to help. His old friends from the Coffee Pot, his family, and even strangers have offered to help in any way they can.
“It’s amazing how many people come out of the woodwork when someone’s in need,” White said.
The fundraiser will take place on January 30 from 7:00 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. at the Coffee Pot. There will be a Rocky Top Karaoke contest, with a small entry fee to enter. All of the participants will have a jar with their name on it, and people can vote by putting money into the jar. Whoever has the most money is the winner, and splits the cash in their jar with Skelton. The money in the rest of the jars also goes to Skelton.
White hopes to raise additional funds with a silent auction of donated items, including a half-day guided fishing tour with Kenny’s Striper Guide Service; a gift certificate for a $50 tattoo at Queen Anne’s Revenge Tattoo and body Piercing; a gift basket of Rebecca’s Soap Delicatessen’s homemade soaps; a free tax return donated by Keeping it Simple, Books, Taxes, and More!; and ten free games at Hill Top Lanes. They will also sell Brain Cancer Awareness Bracelets made specially for Skelton from Eternal Autumn.
White also asks that any donations be made to the T.M.S. Grey Fund at Hometown Bank.
