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Posts Tagged ‘cancer’

Clear the calendar.

Clear the calendar. (Illustration courtesy Breanne Smedley)

John Fisken is going pink.

And, I might be too. That’s still being negotiated.

The dye job for the travelin’ photo man, who you often see working the sidelines at Coupeville sporting events, will come before the start of this Thursday’s CHS volleyball matches.

The opponent that night is Chimacum, and the result will have a huge impact on the 1A Olympic League playoff race.

But there will be a bigger foe that night, and that is where the pink comes in.

The Wolves will be hosting their annual Dig for the Cure breast cancer awareness night.

Fisken (and probably me) will be getting pinked-up around 3:30 PM, with the Wolf JV taking the court at 3:45. Varsity action is set for around 5 PM.

The photo man is letting his luscious silver locks go pink in honor of his sister Mary, who is traveling to town for the match.

A three-time cancer survivor who has been fighting the good fight for the past decade, she doesn’t know what her brother has planned out with the Wolf players.

I’ve been told she doesn’t read this blog (and why not?!?!?), so, we’re dancing a tricky dance here.

We want to get as many people as possible there for the event, but we don’t want to spoil John’s side surprise for his sister.

So, remember that when you talk about this on social media, please.

The Wolves will be wearing pink jerseys, honoring cancer survivors with roses and raising money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation with a donation bucket at the game.

Sandi Farris, a cancer survivor and honorary coach for the night, will give the Coupeville girls a pregame speech to remind them that, win or lose, the match is big, but the fight against cancer means much more.

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Whidbey firefighters walk the track in full uniform. (John Fisken photos)

Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue guys walk the track in full uniform. (John Fisken photos)

rainbow girls

Coupeville’s Rainbow Girls join the fight.

bags

Every person has a story, and none are forgotten.

Coupeville musician Jim Castaneda performs for the walkers. (Jim Reynolds photo)

Coupeville musician/Christopher’s on Whidbey cook/international heartthrob Jim Castaneda performs for the walkers. (Jim Reynolds photo)

The sounds of cancer getting its fanny kicked could be heard for miles.

The annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life, held at the North Whidbey Middle School in Oak Harbor, drew tons of walkers, well-wishers, support crew, musicians and curious photographers.

To all involved, well done. Never give in.

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Heather Ausman (GoFundMe photo)

Heather Ausman (GoFundMe photo)

“My plan, God willing, is to live long enough to see my children grow up and have families of their own.”

I don’t know Heather Ausman personally, but I do know cancer.

My aunt Loni (who, was in many ways, a fairly ornery lady) had a doctor tell her family that, if they had a priest, they should call him in because she had hours left.

She then sat up and slapped the doctor (or so the legend goes) and fought the ravages of cancer for another 25+ years.

They weren’t always easy years, but, as I said, she was ornery and didn’t go out easily.

Ausman, a Coupeville mother of three young girls, is in her third battle with stage four breast cancer.

I hope that, deep down, she is as ornery as my aunt, and lives to fight on for many years.

We as a community, as a family bound together by our claiming of Cow Town as our residence, can, and should, do everything possible to help her in that fight.

For her, and for her girls.

Ausman has set up a GoFundMe account, and the link to that is below. Anything you can part with will help her family to deal with what are overwhelming medical costs.

Also, two Coupeville businesses — Brett’s Bread and Whidbey Isle Yarns, Gifts and Teas — have issued a challenge to other businesses in town to donate 10% of their Saturday, Jan. 24 sales to help Ausman.

http://www.gofundme.com/OnlyGodKnowsWhen

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Kyla Briscoe (left) and big sis Tiffany are ready. Are you? (Amy Briscoe photo)

   Wolf varsity spikers Kyla (left) and Tiffany Briscoe are ready. Are you? (Amy Briscoe photo)

Volleyball is ready to do some work tonight.

When Coupeville hosts Port Townsend (JV at 5, varsity at 6:15), it’ll be two things in one.

On the one hand, it’s a showdown for positioning in the Olympic League standings at the halfway point of the six-game league schedule.

Coupeville (1-1 in league play, 1-7 overall) is in a tie with Chimacum (1-1, 3-6) for second place, a game off of Klahowya (2-0, 10-0).

The Redhawks (0-2, 5-4) have stumbled out of the gate after a strong non-conference stretch of the schedule, but could shake things back up with a win on the road.

To go along with the match, the two schools will also participate in a Dig for the Cure cancer awareness night.

The Wolf players will wear different colors to reflect the battles against different cancers and fans are encouraged to join in with their choice of clothing.

Pink is for breast cancer, blue for prostrate and red for Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

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Gavin St Onge (60) (Pat Kelley photos)

  Gavin St Onge (middle in front) and teammates pay tribute to a teammate’s dad. (Pat Kelley photos)

John McDonald

   John McDonald (center) speaks to the team after they gave him a Pittsburgh Steelers blanket.

Two of Coupeville’s best are playing to honor one of Oak Harbor’s finest.

Coupeville Middle School students Matthew Kelley (6th grade) and Gavin St Onge (7th) are both starring for the Oak Harbor Junior Gold football squad, which is rolling at 6-0 on the season.

The Wildcats, who take their unbeaten record on the road to Friday Harbor this Saturday, have dedicated their season to John McDonald.

Father of the team’s biggest lineman, McDonald is in the final stages of terminal cancer.

He is able to spend weekends cheering on his son’s team, however, and Oak Harbor coach Nick Asinsin has put an emphasis on his team honoring McDonald this season.

Paying tribute to McDonald’s life-long love of the six-time Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steelers, the Wildcats are wearing yellow and black wristbands in support.

While playing for Oak Harbor, Kelley and St Onge have excelled.

Kelley splits time between quarterback, receiver and outside linebacker, starting both ways. He’s juggling two sports at once, playing soccer with a select squad as well.

Proving his deadliness regardless of the sport, Kelley had an eventful week.

On the soccer pitch, he knocked in a goal in a 4-0 win, then bounced over to football and ripped off a pair of touchdown runs on the ground.

St Onge is also a two-way starter on the gridiron, one who is described by onlookers as “an animal” who anchors the offensive and defensive lines.

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