By Allison Gogarty
The other night saw a big crowd at Cambridge Wines, and while guests did enjoy some samples, they also were there to support an urgent local cause.
A Morristown family whose daughter suffers from a rare condition called Beckwith-Wiedeman Syndrome, or BWS, held an auction at the wine shop to raise money for research.
Alisha Devlin, the driving force behind the effort, along with her husband, Joe, congratulated the crowd for helping not only help those with BWS, but those suffering from other cancers as well.
The event raised nearly $3,500, which will be doubled during a matching period that runs through May 20, 2015.
The well attended fundraiser brought out fellow parents, business owners, and Mayor Tim Dougherty and his wife, Mary Dougherty. Many attendees were seen making purchases from Cambridge Wines after bidding on items from the following businesses:
- Enjou Chocolat
- Woolverton Inn in Stockton
- Acupressure of Morristown (three treatments)
- Gymboree of Chatham (3 months of classes)
- Music Together of Warren ($100 gift card)
- Commit To Change (10 classes)
- Power Flow Yoga
- Barre 3
- Athleta (Morristown)
- Smartworld Coffee
- Starbucks
- Ganchi Plastic Surgery
- Braunschweiger Jewelers
- Kings (Morristown)
- Sushi Lounge
“There was an incredible amount of love in that room. It was amazing to see such wonderful friends and new faces there to support Ary and all our BWS friends,” said Alisha.
“For us this is just the beginning of our work to help ensure no other parent has to experience the fear and helplessness we felt when our daughter was diagnosed.”
Children with Beckwith-Wiedeman Syndrome (BWS) have a 600-times greater risk of two types of fast-acting childhood cancers, which affect the liver and kidneys.
They also often have symptoms such as an enlarged tongue and hemi-hypertrophy, where body parts are larger and/or longer on one side than the other. For example, one leg is wider and longer than the other.
Children with BWS need to be closely monitored for signs of cancer – Alisha’s daughter, Ary, gets blood work done every six weeks and an ultrasound every three months.
Since this is such a rare condition and because the external symptoms can be mild, BWS often goes undiagnosed and these children do not receive the monitoring they need.
Rare among the general population, BWS is more common among children like Ary, who were conceived through in-vitro fertilization.
To learn more about BWS and this local fundraising effort, visit: www.alexslemonade.org/ourbwsfriends
