Kid's Stories

The Winter Classic helps Montana's Flathead Valley kids. With donations received during the Winter Classic events, funds have assisted hundreds of local kids in the past 20 years - 214 alone between 2000 and 2004.

The kids are the payoff. Meet some of them:

Kemana

Kemana (5 yrs old), has Blouts Disease (both legs) and was preemie one month to the day. Our family would like to express how lucky we are to have found and received help from Whitefish Winter Classic. Every day activities would not be possible for our family like, running, jumping, hopping, hiking, possibly walking etcetera...If it were not for the help of Whitefish Winter Classic making it possible for us and our family members to get to out of state appointments and have lodging while we are there, Kemana would not be as active as she is today.

More than one member of our family has been helped through the Whitefish Winter Classic and we cannot possibly put into words how it has and continues to improve our families every day lives!

THANK YOU AND YOUR GENEROSITY BY STARTING AND CONTINUING THIS FOUNDATION!

Donald

Donald Marquis’ father Dan, describes his son as having the heart of football player, one who dreams of playing for the University of Montana Grizzlies. Unfortunately, Donald was sidelined in the spring of 2009 with acute myeloid leukemia and a heart tumor, a rare complication. After experiencing fatigue, shortness of breath and chest pains, doctors discovered two grapefruit sized tumors growing on Donald’s heart and quickly referred the family to the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Wash. While Donald was undergoing intense chemotherapy, his parents were living in their car so they could be close by. Because rush to get to Seattle, the Marquis’s couldn’t gather enough money to cover their living expenses. With one phone call to the For the Children Foundation, the Marquis’s had enough money to get an apartment close to the hospital to cover their expenses while Donald was undergoing treatment.

The support we get each year at The Whitefish Winter Classic, makes it possible for families in need, like the Marquis family, to be together in a time of need without worrying about financial pressures.

Daily Interlake, May 27, 2009

Veronica

In February of 1995 my almost 5-month-old daughter was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1, the most severe form of the disease. It was shocking and devastating news, with a diagnosis of death before the age of 2. I’ll never forget what it felt like hearing that. Looking back sometimes, I am not sure how we made it to where we are today.

Veronica Spinal Muscular Atrophy robs a child of the ability to walk, crawl, hold their head up, swallow and even breathe. There is a 1 in 35 chance that both parents will pass the defective gene on to their child. It is the number one genetic killer of children under 2 years old. The more I learned about SMA the more frightened I became. Through a series of fortunate events, we found out about a doctor at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake who specializes in the disease. In fact, she is one of only a few doctors who are totally familiar with the disease in the entire country.

It was during the time I was making the initial arrangements to take Veronica to Salt Lake to see Dr. Swoboda that I received a call from my friend, Doug Betters. He had heard about her diagnosis and wanted to remind me that the Winter Classic was available to help. Travel expenses were not even something I had thought about when all this was taking place. I just knew we had to find the best care we could, as fast as possible. When I had time to breathe and think, I realized how expensive it would be to go to Salt Lake on a regular basis. It was such a relief to know that we did not have to add that to our list of things to worry about.

Going to Salt Lake was the best thing we could have done for our daughter. Not only did we leave there with the knowledge of how to care for her, but we also found the one ingredient that would keep us going; hope. My daughter turned 5 this past August. She attends kindergarten, is beautiful, well travelled, funny, and incredibly intelligent. She instills the true meaning of love into everyone who knows her, in spite of her disabilities. That’s quite an accomplishment for someone who wasn’t supposed to see their first birthday!

We have travelled to Salt Lake for 5 years now. The first several years we had to go every 3 months, the past two years we have been going twice a year. Every single trip we have had the travel expenses reimbursed by the Winter Classic Foundation without fail. I truly don’t think that we would have been able to take her there without their help. For that reason, I am forever grateful.

Life with a terminally ill child is not easy. I have been so thankful for the supporters and directors of the Classic for making life a little easier. The Winter Classic Foundation has literally been a lifesaver for my daughter and for our family. I shudder to think where we would be today without their help. I don’t know what tomorrow brings for my daughter, but thanks to the help we have received we have had some pretty spectacular yesterdays. Veronica's Web site

Katie

In 2005, concurrent with the 20th anniversary of the Winter Classic, Katie Walton celebrated her 20th birthday. The vivacious bundle of energy was born with a heart defect--Tetralogy of Fallot--a hole in her heart between ventricles and blockage in her pulmonary valve. Thanks in part to Winter Classic donations in its first season, one-year-old Katie and her family traveled to Salt Lake City for angioplasty followed by open heart surgery soon thereafter. Although Katie has had follow up heart surgery and may need more in the future, she led an active kid's life crammed with soccer, basketball, and music and entered FVCC's theater program to study music.

Matthew

In 1996, Matthew Howard was born six weeks early, fighting through resuscitations, weak lungs, infections, and jaundice early on. In spite of his own difficulties, he has grown a huge heart to cheer other kids when he can. With a low immune system, ear infections prompted five surgeries, and diabetes landed him in Children's Hospital in Seattle. In addition to a clotting disorder, two other surgeries, and his younger brother undergoing a second surgery in 2002, the family virtually spent the year in hospitals. "Without the help of the Winter Classic and For the Children," said Tori, his mother, "we wouldn't have made it through that year."

Trevin

Trevin Hermosillo, a budding writer, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2001 at 12 years old. "Our lives promptly turned upside down, emotionally and financially," said Trevin. With extended and repeated trips to Seattle for chemotherapy, the family relied in part on support from Winter Classic funds to handle transportation, lodging, and food. "We were thankful they were there," said Trevin's mom Ronda. In 2005, Trevin had completed 3 - years of treatment, was doing well, and spending time restoring his grandfather's 1954 Chevy pickup.

If you'd like to help kids like these, please donate to For the Children, Inc.