A Sunday for Sundae
Meet Sundae Rose, a 4-year-old girl who is truly as sweet as her name.
Sundae loves nail polish, coloring, and putting together puzzles that should be too difficult for a girl her age. She also loves her big brother, Jack, and has been known to play "firemen" with him and her other friends as they ride on the back of her wheelchair. Although she's only had the chair for a year, she's an expert driver.
Sundae has Muscular Dystrophy, a disease that weakens the body's muscles. Her mother, Sue Duyssen, recalled how scary the diagnosis process was for her and her family. Sundae was only a year old.
"They narrowed it down to two kinds (of the disease)," she said as her eyes welled up with tears. "If it was one of the two, she wouldn't survive. The other kind, she could stay the same for the rest of her life or even get a little better."
Thankfully, it was discovered to be the latter of the two conditions, and Sundae enjoys her life, family and friends with the help of physical therapy, her wheelchair and a few other gadgets that help her along.
Some of the things Sundae needs to improve her health and quality of life are covered partly by the family's insurance plan -- but other expenses are not.
To defray the costs to the family, a fundraiser will be held in Le Roy called "Jammin' for Sundae." Fittingly, the event falls on Sunday, May 1.
The event starts at 1 p.m. and will be held at The Eagle (9 Main St.) in Le Roy. Tickets cost $20 and include a live show from the Skycoasters, a chicken BBQ dinner and soda. There will be 50/50 raffles and a Chinese auction as well. Tickets can be purchased at Papa John's Eagle, Five Star Bank, Java's on Main and The Hobby Horse in Le Roy.
For more information or to donate to the Chinese auction, contact Sue Duyssen or Kelly Stalica at Batavia Legal Printing, Inc. on Bank Street in Le Roy.
