They thought their son suffered from ear infections until a doctor delivered a devastating diagnosis two months ago: a brain tumor.
Marc and Rima Gettemy, both Carroll natives, hope to save their 3-year-old son, Cade, who loves Disney cartoons and swinging golf clubs in the back yard, with an intravenous medical treatment not covered by health insurance.
“We felt that radiation would be our last resort,” Marc Gettemy said.
The family returned to their Phoenix home Sunday night after three weeks at the Burzynski Clinic in Houston, where doctors use “the natural biochemical defense system” of the human body to combat cancer without harming healthy cells, according to the clinic.
Round the clock, Cade continues to receive the IV treatment, an FDA-approved method with a price tag Marc Gettemy likened to the cost of a four-year college education.
Now, family friends are organizing a fundraiser in Westminster.
“It takes a village to make things like this happen,” said Jennifer Johnson, a Finksburg resident who attended Westminster High School with Rima Gettemy and introduced her to Marc, a graduate of South Carroll High School and McDaniel College.
To help, Frederick County?s Thurmont Thespians, whose artistic director is Johnson?s sister-in-law?s mother, Beth Watson, will perform the musical, “Nunsense,” for free.
Since 1977, Stanislaw Burzynsk and his clinic have treated 8,000 patients without the “debilitating and potentially damaging side effects” associated with radiation and chemotherapy, according to the clinic.
IF YOU GO
» What: Cade Gettemy fundraiser
» When: 6:15 p.m. silent auction, 7 p.m.”Nunsense” musical, May 23
» Where: Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main St., Westminster
» Tickets: $55 410-848-7272
»Donations: [email protected]
