CHECK is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2008 whose proceeds provide financial aid to families with children fighting pediatric cancer and fund neuroblastoma research.
In 2006, Ty and Erika Eigner’s son, Peter, was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma — cancer that affects infants and children. Peter was 4 years old. Their world turned upside down overnight.
(Excerpt from Peter’s blog – August 17, 2006)
For a few weeks now, Peter hasn’t been feeling well. He’s been complaining of a sore tummy, he’s been tired, and has been vomitting on occasion. There was even a report of Peter being grumpy at daycare and not nice to his sisters, which is never the case.
When the symptoms didn’t subside, he was checked out by the doctor and soon after was in for blood tests. His blood showed that his sed rate was out of whack, so there is some kind of fight going on in his little body. Meanwhile, he has been losing weight and not always eating consistently.
Some pretty scary words were presented as possibilites for what could be going on and we soon had more results from the blood tests.
Lyme disease? No.
Leukemia? No.
Auto-immune disorder? No.That’s good. But something’s still the matter.
The news was bad. Months of treatment followed, but through it all, Pete showed amazing strength and a great attitude.
(Excerpt from Peter’s blog – August 23, 2006)
Over the weekend Peter was in a weakened state of recovery, and I was reading him his new favorite book (I certainly wasn’t the first to read it to him). The book is titled “If I Were a Minnesota Twin” and it’s one of those cutout books where you insert your own photo. The hero’s face is cut out on every page and it’s filled by a grinning Peter. That’s kind of funny on its own when you see it.
So the book starts with the Twins playing the White Sox and the Twins fall behind 2 – 1. The Twins manager calls on Peter to pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth to save the day. The first pitch is delivered to Peter (grinning at the plate) and the ump calls out “Striiike!”
I’m about to flip the page when Peter, not feeling strong enough to move his head, rolls his eyes towards me and says, “That was a ball”, in a soft, airy voice.
“But the ump called it a strike”, I respond. “It was inside”, Peter said.Hah! I guess the artist didn’t plan on the reader having such a good eye at the plate. I just kind of turned to the next page so he could hit the home run and save the day.
In the days, months and years following the diagnosis, the support the Eigners received was overwhelming.
(Excerpt from Peter’s blog – August 26, 2006)
(Ty) Erika and I want to start by saying “thank you” so much to all of you. The prayers, love, support, gifts, visits, calls, e-mails and posts on Peter’s page have been “overwhelming.” We will never be able to repay you for how you have made us feel.
This is the most difficult thing that we have ever had to deal with. Peter has been absolutely amazing, and Erika and I are drawing strength from him. He has the toughest fight of his life ahead of him and we have been dealt some real difficult circumstances, but we have to believe that God has a plan for Peter. We firmly believe that faith and attitude will play a huge part in Peter winning this fight. So please keep checking Peter’s page and praying, e-mailing, calling, visiting and supporting us as we move forward in this fight.
As a coach if you tell me I have as good a chance of winning as the “bad guy,” I will tell you that he is going to LOSE! You are all a huge part of Peter’s team and have significant roles on his team. We can’t thank you enough.
There were many benefits, raffles, donations, and fundraisers (t-shirt sale, dodgeball tournament, Pilates for Peter, wristbands, etc.) held to support the Eigners.
(Excerpt from Peter’s blog – September 24, 2006)
Last night at Shep’s, in Brainerd, was the big drawing for the autographed Mario Lemieux jersey. And the big winner was Brian Hanson (AKA Grandpa Poopster, AKA my dad). And the bigger winner was Peter and family. The jersey was passed along to Ty to present to Peter, but more importantly, I understand that the raffle raised over $5000.
Surely I can’t recreate the suspense and ferocity of the actual drawing, but I do have the winner’s account of the proceedings and I’ll embellish in moderation. Brian and wife, Barb, had purchased a string of raffle tickets a while ago. Last night, traveling to Shep’s from his home in nearby Crosslake with great grandpa Art, Brian incessantly rubbed the red tickets for luck until his thumb blistered and the ticket numbers faded. Finally, they arrived and settled in for the action.
Minutes before the drawing, they had a last call for the raffle. Brian calculated that if he sprung for two more tickets, his odds would increase by at least a thousandth of one percentage point. That sounded pretty good to him, so he bought two more. The new tickets were green and joined his worn red tickets in an array on his table.
It was time for the big drawing and it was so quiet in the bar that you could have heard a rat toot. Luckily Shep’s doesn’t have rats. The numbers were slowly read and repeated. Brian couldn’t believe his eyes. The numbers matched one of his new green tickets. It was then that he yelled out “Winner, winner, chicken dinner!” He made his way to the front of the room and danced the “chicken scratch” — a stunning dance of lore in Hanson lineage. Way to go, Dad.
Grateful for the support they had received, Ty and Erika were moved to try to help other children and the families affected by childhood cancer.
(Excerpt from Peter’s blog – August 17, 2007 – One year anniversary)
(Ty) We know that numerous times over the past year, we have seen others in a similar situation who were not as fortunate as we are. They may be a single parent, they may be a child who rarely has visitors, or perhaps a family who has no insurance. Or a patient whose treatment has not gone according to plan.
There have been countless times we have walked silently down the halls of a hospital and held hands knowing how truly blessed we are.
Ty, a hockey coach, was humbled by the amount of support they received from his fellow coaches and athletes, not only in the hockey community but far beyond. Witnessing firsthand the positive impact coaches and their teams played in Peter’s fight, Ty and Erika wanted to harness the power of this incredible network to aid other families and fight against pediatric cancer.
Coaches Helping Eliminate Cancer in Kids was born.
(Excerpt from Peter’s blog – November 27, 2007)
Ty and Erika have taken the initiative to start a non-profit to fight cancer and to help kids and families battling cancer today and in the future. The foundation is called CHECK, Coaches Helping Eliminate Cancer in Kids. Ty — a Minnesota high school hockey coach — took his story and a challenge to the rest of the high school hockey coaches in the state. The coaches enthusiastically accepted the challenge to raise $1000 per team this year (and there are a lot of hockey teams in MN).
The work of CHECK goes on…
(Excerpt from Peter’s blog – November 24, 2008)
(Ty) In case you are in the area, the Rosemount Hockey program is having their annual “Skate with the Irish” event in honor of Peter for the 3rd straight year… wow. The proceeds of this event will go directly to the foundation we started last year, called CHECK (Coaches Helping Eliminate Cancer in Kids). We hope to spread some financial help and happiness to kids and their families who are battling cancer, and also to further the research of pediatric cancers, in search of a cure. We’re excited to be able to attend this year, as we have been too far away and preoccupied with treatment the past couple of years!
And the impact of CHECK has been felt deeply.