If you've passed through the Chickamauga area over the last month, you may have noticed the colorful bracelets adorning the wrists of students, teachers and church members alike.
Bearing the words "MARY STRONG," the wristbands represent a collective battle cry for 19-year-old Mary Kate Pritchett, who has spent more than five years in and out of surgeries to lessen the severe abdominal pain she endures on a daily basis as a result of chronic pancreatitis. Each colorful sighting is a reminder from friends, family and even strangers that "We are fighting with you."
The Fight Continues
The Chickamauga Flutes will host a benefit Christmas concert on behalf of Mary Kate. All are invited to attend.When: Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.Where: Lillian Ellis Center at Elizabeth Lee UMCLearn more or donate at cotaformarykate.com.
Following the recent announcement that Pritchett's pancreas was failing, causing even the smallest amount of food to result in pain, community members from all over the region have banded together in a show of financial support for her family. The sale of bracelets and "Pancreatitis Warrior" T-shirts is only the tip of the iceberg.
The community campaign was brought to life by Pritchett's aunt Amber Burns in September, after it became necessary for Pritchett to undergo a life-saving islet cell transplant procedure, which typically costs between $100,000 and $800,000. The family's financial burden is expounded by other out-of-pocket expenses, such as medication, transportation to the transplant center, and lodging.
So far, the campaign has brought in about $29,000, bringing the family more than halfway to its $50,000 goal. Those dollars will be vital for the family when medical bills start rolling in this January for the now-complete procedure, said Pritchett's mother, Leigh-Ann Guthrie, who teaches for Walker County Schools.
Burns said the campaign wouldn't have been possible without the Children's Organ Transplant Association, a national nonprofit that helps transplant families avoid financial devastation by providing fundraising assistance.
Though COTA provided guidance and resources, however, Burns said the process has been a community effort.
The bracelets, for instance, were made by a fellow member of Pritchett's Chattanooga State softball team, who sold them to softball players from Gordon Lee High School (Pritchett's alma mater), Heritage High School, Roane County High School and others in order to raise funds.
Dollars also poured in from local businesses and religious organizations. Choo Choo BBQ & Grill donated 20 percent of its sales to the cause during a day set aside for fundraising. Elizabeth Lee United Methodist Church held a silent auction to bring in funds. Modern Woodmen of America matched funds raised through the campaign's efforts. And those are just a few examples.
"We're a very tight-knit community and everyone has really bonded together over this and reached a lot of people," said Burns. "It's just a beautiful showing of love to Mary Kate and her family."
In addition to much-needed funds, Pritchett has also seen a massive outpouring of emotional support.
While staying at Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio for the surgical procedure, she received a plethora of packages and enough cards to completely cover both sides of her closet door and a sizable portion of her bathroom door.
"And we haven't even hung up all the Bible verse cards that [the church] sent," Guthrie said, turning her attention to a bulletin board that is already filling up with new cards at the Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati, where she and her daughter are currently staying following the operation. "She got about 10 today, and that cheers us all up."
"There really are no words besides 'thank you' that you can say," Pritchett added. "I could thank them all a million times and it still wouldn't be enough."
The healing process is slow, but Pritchett said she is looking forward to a life free of her abdominal pain, which has already faded away for the first time in five years.
With any luck, she said she'll be back out on the softball field by the time the season kicks off in February - no doubt sporting a "MARY STRONG" bracelet of her own.
Email Myron Madden at mmadden@timesfreepress.com.