Ride for Skye
When: 10 a.m. Saturday, June 19
Where: Buck & Stubby's Sports Bar, 6842 Ohio 503 N., in Lewisburg
Cost: $10 per adult and $5 per child
Info: Danielle Brooks at (937) 239-1763
LEWISBURG — There was a time, not long ago, when Skye Getter told her mom and dad that she had had enough.
The 6-year-old had grown weary of hospital visits laden with pain as a result of chemotherapy, radiation treatments and repeated surgeries.
“When we first found the tumors this time, she said she was too tired to fight,” said Angela Getter of Lewisburg.
Both of Skye’s kidneys are gone, removed due to recurring tumors from the cancer she has battled since she was 3 years old.
Then Skye had a change of heart. She told her parents she wanted to continue with treatments.
“She woke up from a nap and said ‘I want to try to fight,’ ” Getter said.
Getter told her daughter that it would involve more pain, and perhaps make her much sicker.
“She knows the prognosis isn’t great,” she said.
Despite that, Skye wanted to continue treatments.
She spends her days traveling between The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center for medical care. She has dialysis several times a week and has started receiving a new round of chemotherapy that will last at least six weeks.
“There’s an awful lot on her head and she handles it,” Getter said. “I’ve never seen somebody like her. She teaches us all the time.”
Those who know the Getters have been holding events to help the family with costs associated with medical care for Skye.
“We’re all praying there is a miracle,” said Danielle Brooks, who, with her husband Brandon, is organizing the Ride for Skye poker run fundraiser, as well as a parade in honor of Skye.
“We felt compelled to do as much as we could do for them,” said Brooks.
The Saturday, June 19, event will begin at Buck & Stubby’s Sports Bar, 6842 State Route 503 N., in Lewisburg. Registration is at 10 a.m. and the first vehicle goes out at 11 a.m. The cost is $10 per adult and $5 per child.
Help like this was hard to accept at first for Angela and Skye’s father, Kirk Getter, who has taken a leave of absence from Heidelberg Distributing Company to spend time with his family. Skye has three siblings.
The Getters tried to deal with Skye’s illness on their own as a family. However, when the cancer returned — again and again — Getter was grateful for the support from others.
“It is amazing to me,” she said. “How can you not have faith when there is so much good out there? People from all over the world post on her CaringBridge (web site). It’s wonderful.”
For more information, or to register for the fundraiser, call Danielle Brooks at (937) 239-1763. To learn more about Skye’s story, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/skyegetter.
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