Community Stands By 10-Year-Old With Brain Tumor

With their 10-year-old son in and out of the hospital for treatment of a brain tumor, the Wehr family can only describe their new reality as a “different world.”

The topography of that world is made up of the fear of the unknowns: getting treatment for their son, Collin; a mountain of insurance claims to work through; and the daily stress of balancing the basic tasks of life with the care of a very sick boy.

But the “different world” is also brightened by a lifeline of support from friends, family members and neighbors who have gone above and beyond to help the Wehrs in ways big and small, according to Collin’s father, Ray Wehr.

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“I have to figure a way out to appropriately document it, to paint the right picture,” he said. “Yeah, it’s a horrible thing that happened to my son, but you’ve got to look at what’s occurring because of it."

Support Pours in Immediately

When Collin was first diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in January 2010, friends, neighbors and family members immediately offered to help. 

One friend, Johanna Silver, organized meals, which the Wehrs received for months while Collin was in the hospital and then at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, recovering from multiple surgeries and undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.

“Literally every night at 5:00 there was a hot meal sitting on our porch,” said Ray. “It was incredible.”

The Wehr’s dog got so used to the deliveries that he would stand by the door at 5 p.m. every day, waiting for the meal, Ray said. If it wasn’t on time, the dog would bark.

“We have one of the saddest dogs in the world now,” Ray said jokingly.

The help kept pouring in. Friends texted to say they would pick up the Wehr’s daughter, Ramsey, and drive her home. One neighbor mowed the lawn, and a friend came to shovel the snow in the winter. 

“It’s just thousands of little things that they’ve done,” said Ray.

Friends Set Up A Fund in Collin’s Name 

Robin Bear and Linda Goldsher, who often talked of raising money for Collin’s care, asked periodically if the family needed financial help. 

“They said, ‘We’ll let you know when we do,’ ” Goldsher recalled. So when the Wehrs said the bills were becoming too much for the family, Goldsher and Bear were ready. 

“I’ve known through the whole process that it’s been difficult for them because insurance wasn’t paying for a lot,” said Bear, who served on the PTA in District 27 alongside Collin's mom, Joan. “I knew that the bills were adding up.

“When Collin left the hospital he was on 16 medications,” she added. “Just think about the cost of that. Even if it’s only $20 apiece, if it’s on a monthly basis, it’s a huge expense.”

Bear and Goldsher went to the bank in the beginning of July and opened a fund in Collin’s name. Because it is not a foundation, the money goes directly to the Wehr family. 

“Most people don’t really care that it’s not a foundation and that they can’t deduct it,” Bear said about the lack of a tax deduction. “It’s just better for them at this point this way."

Already, Bear and Goldsher have raised more than $20,000 for The Collin Wehr Fund. But they hope to raise more money for the Wehrs, who face paying at least $225,000 for one surgical bill alone. 

“If we could cover all their costs, we would be thrilled,” Bear said.

Recently, the two family friends collected donations at the Northbrook Farmers Market, and they are planning a fundraiser during the Chicago Bears game Oct. 23 at Marcello’s. They hope that Collin will be well enough to come, since he loves watching the Bears. 

“Folks like Robin and Linda have been incredible,” Ray said. “We’re blown away by the impact that Collin has had.”

Another friend, Johanna Silver, has run a marathon to raise money to help Collin, and Ray's friend from college recently told him that his wife had signed up for the board of directors for a cancer fund.

“The reason she signed up is because of your son,” the college friend told Ray.

“It’s things like that—you just don’t know how to respond,” Ray said. 

Collin is Still in Medical Limbo 

Although doctors were able to remove most of Collin’s brain tumor during surgery in January 2010, they had to leave behind two spots that were impossible to remove. 

For a year after his first surgery, chemotherapy and radiation seemed to be working well on the remnants of the tumor. But this January, two additional spots showed up, according to Ray. Doctors told the family that their treatment options were limited to just two chemotherapy trials.

Collin didn’t qualify for one, so the family enrolled him in the other, operated by the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, with headquarters in North Carolina. Ray took a second partial leave from his job at Wells Fargo to be with Collin at the hospital. 

After the first, five-day round of chemotherapy drugs ended last week, doctors drew blood to check Collin’s platelets—cell fragments that help the blood clot. His counts were too low to safely receive chemotherapy then, but Collin is back in the hospital this week for another round of the drug. 

Meanwhile, the family was buoyed by yet more gestures of support. On Thursday, the Make-A-Wish foundation granted Collin’s wish: He got to interview Bears players at the team’s headquarters in Lake Forest. He also got to sit on the sidelines at the Bears’ final preseason game last Thursday night at Soldier Field.

This weekend, Glenbrook North football players visited Collin at home, and were inspired to sell T-shirts on his behalf during lunch periods this week. 

“The things that people do because of him, for him and about him is incredible,” Ray said. “I’d like to think the impact he’s having is far greater than the suffering we’re going through.”