It’s April, and the high school basketball season is over. For supporters of the Tim Orth Memorial Foundation, that means one thing — it’s time to jam the gym at Glencoe-Silver Lake High School.
The 26th annual Jam the Gym event is Saturday, April 6. Doors open at 4 p.m. and activities begin at 5:30 p.m.
The Tim Orth Memorial Foundation assists children and their families who are facing substantial medical expenses due to a serious accident, illness or other special needs. It does this by raising money through events such as Jam the Gym in Glencoe, but also by creating a support network for the recipients and their families.
As always, the night will feature all-star basketball games with some of the top senior girls and boys high school hoops players from the area. Between the basketball action there will be entertainment from local performers and groups, a silent auction, concessions and lots of other ways to support the foundation’s cause.
All proceeds from the event go to help the families of this year’s recipients.
In the past 25 years, the event has benefited 185 children and their families from 32 communities in the McLeod County area. This year the Tim Orth Memorial Foundation adds 12 new recipients to its family:
Kenneth Lopez Aguilera, 8, of Hutchinson, the son of Tania Aguilera and Jose Maria Lopez;
Fae Alvarez, 5 months, of Litchfield, the daughter of Courtney and Gio Alvarez;
Sawyer Aro, 2, of Danube, the son of Brittany Fiecke and Kyle Aro;
Piper Dinning, 14, of Hutchinson, the daughter of Mona and John Dinning;
Angel Jones, 13, of Hutchinson, the daughter of Natisha Stately and Cordareo Jones;
Mason Kiecker, 17, of Litchfield, the son of Chanda and Jason Kiecker;
Errin Luxem, 13, of Hutchinson, the daughter of Jessica Guillette;
Cody Robinson, 2, of Hutchinson, the son of Amanda and Myk Robinson;
Hazel Robinson, 2 months, of Hutchinson, the daughter of Amanda and Myk Robinson;
Dominick Tyo, 3, of Hutchinson, the son of Caitlin Tyo;
Brady Wanous, 13, of Cokato, the son of Krystal Wanous; and
Beau Quevi, 7 months, of Stewart, the son of Alex and Cleo Quevi.
The Leader reached out to the families of local recipients to learn more about them. Following are some of children’s stories.
MASON LOOKS TO THE FUTURE
Mason Kiecker enjoys being outside, especially when it comes to helping in his uncle’s landscaping business. The Litchfield High School senior thinks it’s the kind of job he will pursue after graduation.
“I really enjoy landscaping with my dad,” Mason, 17, said of working alongside his father at Sculptured Earth. “I like the manual labor type of things, being outside doing actual work, not sitting at a computer. I have been helping out for three or four years. I drove a skid loader for the first time when I was 10.”
Now that he’s recovering from ulcerative colitis, which led to colon removal and three follow-up surgeries earlier this year, Kiecker feels like he can think about that future more optimistically.
“It’s been really stressful,” Mason said of the condition, which included a range of intestinal issues, stomach pain and forced him to make multiple trips to the bathroom every day. “Stressful and annoying. I just wanted to be done with it.”
“The last year has been a real struggle,” Jason Kiecker said of his son’s health challenges, which began about four years ago with diagnosis of colitis and continued to worsen.
Finally, in mid-January this year, Mason had surgery to remove his colon at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. That was followed by three more surgeries.
“I thought I was only going to be in the hospital a little bit,” Mason said, but complications and additional surgeries led to a 24-day stay. He had a room with a view, which helped, but it also made him more impatient to get out of the hospital.
Though they didn’t know much about the Orth Foundation prior to getting a call from the school to let them know Mason would be one of the recipients of the foundation’s support, the Kieckers feel fortunate to have the support.
“We feel super blessed,” said Jason Kiecker, who said the costs of his son’s care have been especially challenging since he hasn’t been working due to the seasonal nature of the landscaping business. “As parents, you just kind of shrug your shoulders that you’re not working, and all the gas money (for trips to the hospital) you’re putting in and other costs. It’s super cool to have such a foundation.”
SAWYER GETS A FOUR-LEGGED FRIEND
Sawyer Aro behaves exactly like you’d expect a 2-year-old boy to behave. He loves fishing, taking rides on boats and four-wheelers, getting his hands messy with Play-Doh, and cuddling up with his grandpa to watch basketball or football games.
“He’s a super easy kid,” said his mother, Brittany Fiecke, who lives in Danube and is planning a to move to Hutchinson.
Unfortunately, not everything is easy on Sawyer. He suffers from a severe dairy allergy that can cause anaphylaxis. What’s more, his reactions are often delayed, so his parents must be always vigilant.
“It could be 12 hours after he’s consumed dairy,” Fiecke said. “He’s gone anaphylactic while he’s sleeping.”
Fiecke said they first noticed Sawyer had trouble with dairy when he was an infant and often spit up. It worsened, and today any small amount of dairy is a threat.
“When it comes to the dairy, any little amounts can affect him,” Fiecke said. “There was one time it took us three EpiPens just to get us to the hospital. He’s super sensitive to it.”
Due to his severe allergy, Sawyer’s parents must be careful about what he consumes. Fiecke said most people would be surprised to know that dairy is in many products they would never expect, such as some apple juices. They rarely eat at restaurants due to these concerns.
One thing that might help Sawyer with his allergy is a service dog capable of smelling dairy in food, but it is quite expensive. That’s where the Tim Orth Memorial Foundation comes in.
Spending summers in Lake Lillian as a child, Fiecke attended Jam the Gym nights in Olivia and was familiar with the foundation. Now, the foundation is helping Sawyer’s family purchase his new four-legged friend, and Fiecke believes it will have an enormous impact on his quality of life.
“There are so many things (that contain dairy), and so I think a service dog will help him be able to do those normal things,” she said. “When he gets older he’ll be able to have a little normalcy, so when he goes to a friend’s house if a parent doesn’t know (if something contains dairy), at least his dog will know.”
NEW WHEELS FOR PIPER
If you had told Piper Dinning’s mother eight years ago that Piper would be dancing, swimming and biking by the time she was 14 years old, she wouldn’t have believed you.
Piper, who has Down syndrome, was 6 years old and weighed 19 pounds when her mother, Mona Dinning of Hutchinson, adopted her from an orphanage in Bulgaria. She was nonverbal and couldn’t walk. Today, she’s a special education student at Hutchinson High School. While she is still nonverbal, she uses sign language to communicate and she loves to be active “on her terms,” according to her mother.
“She has well surpassed my expectations of what I thought she could accomplish,” Mona said.
Piper does not like large groups of people, so when she does do activities, it’s only with small groups, such as her friends at school and at Kelly’s Dance Academy. One of her favorite things is to take a ride on the adaptive bike at school. She loves it so much that Mona has tried to get her one of her own, but like most adaptive equipment, it was too expensive.
“I’ve tried to get her an adaptive bike because she so much enjoys it, and it’s something she can do and doesn’t have to be involved in a big group,” Mon said.
Fortunately for Piper, the Tim Orth Memorial Foundation was happy to lend a hand.
Mona knew about the foundation because one of her other adopted sons, Atanas, has performed during the Jam the Gym events as a member of the Special Olympics basketball team. Piper’s therapist told her she should write to the foundation to ask if they could help purchase the adaptive bike.
“It wasn’t an expense I was going to be able to fund myself,” Mona said. “It really was a blessing that (Piper’s therapist) told me about (the foundation) and I filled out the letter. I wasn’t expecting anything, but to my surprise I was told it was going to happen.”
Today the bike has been ordered and, with the help of Piper’s school therapists, it will be adapted to her specific needs.
“It’s a wonderful organization and I will be a supporter,” Mona said.
TALKING DINOS WITH DOMINICK
If you’ve ever wondered what’s so great about dinosaurs, 3-year-old Dominick Tyo of Hutchinson is happy to tell you all about it.
“He’s super sweet,” said Dominick’s mother, Caitlin. “He absolutely loves dinosaurs. He loves showing his interests to people. He’s not very good at sharing yet, but he loves to show people.”
While his sharing skills may need improvement, it’s those communication skills that Caitlin is pleased to see.
Dominick is being treated for delayed speech, behavioral issues and sensory issues. He is also awaiting a possible autism diagnosis. He receives physical, occupational and speech therapy treatment through Early Special Education in Hutchinson and Glencoe Regional Health.
Before he began treatment, Dominick struggled to communicate and used charts to point at things he was trying to say. Since he began treatments, however, Dominick’s communication skills have improved by leaps and bounds.
“Less than a year ago, he was barely saying anything. He could say Mommy and Daddy, but that was about it,” Caitlin said. “Now he tries saying new words every day, and I can understand what he says for the most part. He’s enjoying talking now and doesn’t seem scared to talk.”
Caitlin credits the treatments he receives with his speech improvements, and she hopes that with consistent treatments he will continue to improve. The Tim Orth Memorial Foundation is ready to help make that happen.
Caitlin only just recently found out Dominick was selected as one this year’s recipients, so she’s still learning about the foundation and how it will help. But as someone who grew up in Hutchinson, she was familiar with the group.
“I was in absolute shock,” Caitlin said about finding out Dominick had been selected as a recipient. “That opens up a lot for Dominick. I really wasn’t sure how to respond or react because I was really taken aback by it. I filled (an application) out just to take a chance that he might get some assistance, because with that help he does so, so good.”
Along with the financial assistance, Caitlin is looking forward to making connections with the other families that are part of the Tim Orth community she and Dominick are joining.
“I am looking forward to the supper (with recipients) so I can get a change to meet the families there,” she said.
SUPPORT FOR THE ROBINSONS
Having two children under the age of 3 is enough to keep any parents busy. Having two young children with special needs is even more of a handful, and that’s exactly the situation for Amanda and Myk Robinson of Hutchinson.
The Robinsons have two young children – Cody, 2, and Hazel, 2 months – who were born with their own special needs that require regular therapy and doctor visits.
Physically, Cody is no different from most active little boys.
“He is a very energetic, outgoing 2-year-old,” Amanda said. “He likes to climb and run around.”
However, Cody suffers from speech delay as the result of a lack of oxygen at birth. He also has sensory and self-regulation issues and receives speech and occupational therapy through the Help Me Grow MN Program and Hutchinson Health.
“He’s trying to tell us what he wants, but we’re not able to understand what he’s saying,” Amanda said.
Hazel, on the other hand, is very young, “so we’re just starting to see her personality,” Amanda said. “She likes to smile a lot and be held.”
Hazel was born prematurely and diagnosed with Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy. She suffered a brain bleed during birth and was sent to Children’s Hospital where for the first three days of her life she received cooling therapy. She was able to go home on Feb. 1, but doctors are uncertain of her outlook at this time as she is at risk of delays and epilepsy, according to Amanda.
Both Cody and Hazel make regular trips to Children’s Hospital where their progress is being monitored by a neuro specialist, and for Hazel an ear, nose, throat doctor.
There’s a lot of unknowns for Cody and Hazel, but one thing they do know is that the Tim Orth Memorial Foundation family will be there to help. The foundation is raising money to assist with their therapy and regular visits to Children’s Hospital. And for their parents, it provides a support group.
“Having the support system is nice, a community,” Amanda said.
FRESH START FOR ERRIN
Although a shy girl when you first meet her, Errin Luxem, 13, enjoys a variety of hobbies including playing cards, coloring and using her tablet. She also can be found spending time in the kitchen where she takes pleasure in baking and cooking.
It was her family’s recent move to Hutchinson that prompted Jessica Sullivan, Errin’s mom, to apply to the foundation for assistance.
“I still feel there are other things she could use to help her become stronger and more resources,” Jessica said. “We just moved to Hutchinson (in) early 2023. This is a fresh start for me and my girls and I want to make sure she has everything she needs.”
The Hutchinson Middle School student was diagnosed with dysphagia, hearing loss, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and developmental delays.
Along with the financial assistance, Jessica is looking forward to meeting the other families that are part of the Tim Orth community.
“With this experience I have hopes that we will get to build relationships and connections and she will be able to gain more friends and equipment she may need to become stronger and help her with her disability,” Jessica said. “I would like to get her a bike and or a gym membership, so she can gain muscle and confidence. Get her out and try new things.”
ANGELS FOR ANGEL
Angel Jones, a 13-year-old resident of Hutchinson, is the daughter of Natisha Stately and Cordareo Jones. Despite her young age, Angel faces significant challenges, having been diagnosed with developmentally cognitive disability, asthma and numerous allergies. These conditions shape her daily life, requiring careful management and consideration. Yet, Angel’s resilience and spirit shine through as she navigates these obstacles with determination and courage, inspiring those around her with her strength and perseverance.
KENNETH FIGHTS ON
Kenneth Lopez Aguilera, 8, is the son of Tania Aguilera and Jose Maria Lopez. Kenneth Aguilera was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma a year ago when he was seven years old.
Rhabdomysarcoma is a type soft tissue cancer that usually begins in the muscles that are attached to bones that help the body move — such as the arms, legs, head, neck and abdomen. It can be treated and sometimes cured, though the cancer can come back. Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare disease that primarily affects children and teenagers. Treatments include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Aguilera has had 43 chemotherapy treatments since he was diagnosed.
“We have gone to the hospital every Monday,” Aguilera’s father Jose Lopez said. “Every three weeks we have to go to the hospital in Minneapolis (M Fairview Children’s Hospital) for more treatments. That takes up the whole day with driving into the Cities, the treatment and then driving home.
“It is hard emotionally and economically,” Lopez added. “Both my wife and I have to work less, taking him for the treatments. It’s been hard to deal with.”
Lopez explained that after the treatment his son feels sick the whole week. “He vomits, can’t go to the bathroom and can’t eat.”
At other times, Lopez says his son will get cravings. “We have to take him to a restaurant to satisfy them.”
“He is a fighter though.” Lopez said. “He has been strong through the whole process.”
The family appreciates Kenneth being a recipient of the Tim Orth Foundation. The parents will use the money for basics like food, gas and to pay bills, Lopez said.
