There are constant reminders of Molly Horton around Artondale Elementary School. Her picture is taped to the school’s front double doors, part of a flier for a Christmas wreath sale that will benefit the 7-year-old and her family. Along Artondale’s hallways are handmade posters in children’s handwriting, reminding students about “Molly and the Sparrow Club.” In the school’s gym hangs a sign 10 feet long; in huge black block letters are the words “ARTONDALE STUDENTS MAKING A DIFFERENCE.” Next to that poster are photos of Molly, a smiling kindergartner with long blonde hair who loves cupcakes and Disney pop star Hannah Montana.
Since the end of last school year, Molly hasn’t been back at Artondale. In June, she was admitted to Seattle Children’s Hospital, where she underwent extensive cancer treatment.
But her classmates have now made Molly a bigger part of Artondale than she was as a student. With the help of guidance counselor Jon Johansen, they’ve formed the Sparrow Club to raise more than $2,000 in three months for the Horton family’s medical bills.
That generosity has spread throughout the community, with one family donating a computer to Molly’s father, Andrew, and the Gig Harbor High School football team helping out with fundraisers.
The Horton family admits they are overwhelmed by the community’s charity.
“The meaning behind this, the willingness to help, is what’s so amazing,” said Andrew, 28. “And it’s people we don’t even know.”
“It’s surreal,” added Linda Horton, Molly’s grandmother. “I don’t even think we know the full extent.”
That’s because, for the better part of a year, they’ve been singularly focused on taking care of Molly. She was diagnosed last January with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a blood condition that often leads to leukemia — as it did in Molly’s case.
Just two weeks ago, after three months of treatment — including a bone marrow transplant and a stay in the Seattle Ronald McDonald House — Molly returned to Gig Harbor, where she lives with her single father.
These days, Molly spends most of her time at her grandparents’ house in Gig Harbor while Andrew, a supervisor with Southwest Airlines, works nights. Molly has to be under constant supervision, because her immune system is extremely weak after her treatment.
At 7 years old, Molly is able to explain her disease in very simple terms. Back in January, she caught a “flu bug,” which turned out to be pneumonia. Her regular doctor gave Molly her first “poke” — Molly’s word for getting her blood drawn. After that, Molly visited a Seattle hospital, where she got her second poke.
That second blood draw revealed she had MDS, which Molly said “means I hardly had any blood in my body.”
MDS is a precursor to leukemia; the syndrome affects bone marrow’s ability to produce more blood cells.
Eventually, MDS progresses. In one of three cases, it can lead to leukemia.
When Molly was diagnosed, her doctors were unsure how rapidly she would become ill. Her father and grandmother thought it best for Molly to stay in school until June, when the school year ended; they didn’t tell any of her classmates or anyone at Artondale — except for her kindergarten teacher, Andi McKay, and Johansen.
“Her dad didn’t want her to feel different from anyone else,” said McKay, who tears up when she talks about witnessing Molly’s health decline.
Over the next few months, the kindergartner — whom McKay described as “your typical girl who wants to be a princess” who “walked on her tiptoes and twirled” — became weaker and weaker. After P.E., McKay often carried Molly back from the playground to her classroom.
On the last day of school, Molly’s teacher — “the best teacher in the world,” Molly said — and Johansen sent home a letter to Artondale students, informing them that Molly was sick and would probably not return to school in the fall.
The next day, Molly went to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma for a checkup.
“First, my red (blood cell) count was low,” Molly said. “Then, I had another test, and my white (blood cell) count was low. Then I went to Children’s (Hospital) on June 19.”
After checking into Children’s Hospital, she underwent four days of radiation and two days of chemotherapy in preparation for a bone marrow transplant. She had the transplant in mid-July; to make the surgery less scary, her grandmother helped name her bone marrow donor.
Molly calls him “Mr. B,” after his blood type and said her donor “helped make me more blood so I stay healthy.”
By the time Molly was recovering at Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House, school had started again at Artondale. It was then that Cat Redinbo, the mother of Molly’s best friend, Anna, visited Johansen with the hope of putting together a fundraiser to help pay the Hortons’ rising medical bills.
The story hit close to home for Johansen: It was his son’s illness that inspired the founding of the Sparrow Club at Artondale in 2003.
Michael Johansen was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer at 10 months old. Since Michael began to recover a few years ago, the club — part of a national non-profit organization of school-based clubs that assist children in medical crises — has been loosely organized.
That is, until Johansen and Redinbo put their heads together for Molly.
In mid-September, they re-launched the Sparrow Club, where students at Artondale volunteer to help out their families and community. For every hour they perform, a corporate sponsor — in this case, local business Harbor Oral Surgery — donates $10 to a fund. So far, 80 students have worked more than 270 hours, exceeding the club’s goal of 256 hours.
Some students are motivated to participate because of their previous friendship with Molly. Kellen Curran, 7, went to church with Molly and the two played together at school before Molly left Artondale. He offered to give up his weekly $3 allowance to donate to Molly.
Curran proposed the idea on his own, “just because I wanted to,” he said.
But students who don’t know Molly are just as motivated to help. Anna Brown, a fifth-grader, is now the Sparrow Club vice president and gives up one recess a week to volunteer hours. Brown has never met Molly, but she’s still pitching in.
Same goes for Selena Perez, 10, who is new to Artondale this year and only heard about Molly’s situation recently.
“I think it would be a good thing to help kids that have cancer,” she said, “and to have them know we respect them.”
From what Redinbo and Johansen have observed, students’ participation in the Sparrow Club has changed the atmosphere at Artondale. Redinbo said the kids might not all be aware of what cancer means, but they know a friend needs help — and they’re willing to do their part.
“The buzz around the school — it’s a unifying experience,” Redinbo said. “I think we know we are all in this together.”
That’s the sentiment that has had the most profound effect on Molly and her family. Andrew said his daughter’s illness is the “biggest thing that ever happened to us.”
“It seems like it lasts forever,” Andrew said about Molly’s battle with leukemia. “But you look back, and it only took a blink of an eye.”
The experience also has a financial impact: The transplant and Molly’s care carries a $2 to $3 million bill, and although Andrew’s health insurance covers most of the costs, he’ll still pay a hefty amount now and down the line, depending on Molly’s future care.
Having financial help from the community gives him a chance to focus his daughter’s recovery, which is still a long road ahead. Molly is taking five to six pills a day, and her once-blonde hair is just barely growing back after chemotherapy.
Molly still visits Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital once a week and has a Hickman line — an intravenous catheter used for the administration and for blood withdrawal — in her chest.
Last week, Molly said she “was feeling good,” and she’s anxious to visit her friends again at Artondale.
It will be another year before Molly is healthy enough to return to school, but until she does, her teachers, guidance counselor and the friends she is yet to meet will be waiting to welcome her back.
There are a few ways to support the Horton family while Molly Horton recovers from her bone marrow transplant:
To donate to the Artondale Sparrow Club, visit www.sparrowclubs.org and search for “Molly Horton Fund.” People are welcome to mail checks directly to the Sparrow Club USA at: 906 NE Greenwood Ave. Suite 2, Bend, OR, 97701. Note on the check that the money should be contributed to the Molly Horton Fund.
Jamie Hooper, a member of the Artondale PTA, is selling holiday wreaths, with proceeds going to the Horton family The wreaths can be ordered at Artondale Elementary School or by visiting the Gig Harbor Grange from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Nov. 28 through Dec. 12.
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