By Mark Boshnack
Staff Writer
A brighter medical future for
a 2 1/2-year-old Roxbury boy is the
goal of a benefit dinner Friday.
The spaghetti dinner being
held from 4 to 8 p.m. at Charlotte
Valley Central School is one of
the fundraising events being
held to pay for the $28,000 stemcell
infusion Dylan Utter needs
to treat his spinal muscular atrophy,
a couple of family members
said.
SMA is a disease of the motor
neurons that affects the voluntary
muscles
used for activities
such as crawling,
walking and swallowing,
according
to the Families
of SMA website,
www.fsma.org.
Dylan was diagnosed
with the
disease when he
was 15 months old, said his mother,
Erica Utter. The treatment,
which uses stem cells from umbilical
cords, isn’t covered by the
insurance her husband, Fred Jr.,
has. Treatment will be administered
in the Cayman Islands
because it is not available in the
United States, she said.
She learned of the treatment
through Internet research she
began soon after the diagnosis.
Until she started taking Dylan
for treatments to a Staten Island
doctor, he could not hold his
head up and had little muscular
control and movement, she
said.
“The difference is unbelievable,”
she said.
The family had a benefit
last week in Roxbury,
where her parents live and
where she grew up. Her
parents own the Davenport
Center Diner.
Her husband’s parents,
Fred and Judy Utter,
helped arrange Friday’s
benefit in Davenport.
“We want to do anything
we can (to help),” said Superintendent
Mark Dupra.
The school is regularly
used for community service
events, he said, and this is
a worthwhile project.
Dylan’s grandfather
Fred serves as supervisor
of highways and assistant
chief at the fire department.
A family friend is organizing
another benefit
April 26 at the Harpersfield
Grange Hall, said Fred Utter.
“People have been very
generous,” he said.
The family was hopeful
the infusion would lead to
an improvement in his condition,
he said.
Erica said she has explored
diet, vitamins and
whatever offered her son
a chance for a normal life,
and she is hopeful that the
infusion will be successful.
If so, she said, it will not
only lead to a better life
for her son, but it will allow
her to spend more time
with the couple’s 1½-yearold
daughter, Caylinn, who
does not have the disease.
Donations and benefits
have raised about $18,000
in accounts at NBT Bank
in Dylan’s name and at
Delaware National Bank of
Delhi for Fred Jr. and Erica
Utter in trust for Dylan.
For more information, call
Erica Utter at 326-6025.
inactive
Related Photos
-
Dylan
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Welcome to our story comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including the unpopular ones. We only ask that you keep your conversations clean, civil and on the topic of the story you are commenting on.
Coinciding with our websites redesign, we launched our new story comments feature through Disqus.
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3. Harassing, harmful, vulgar, obscene and defamatory language.
4. Threatening statements or statements that suggest violence.
5. Hate speech of any kind.
6. Intolerant comments on religion, race, age, gender, sexual preference or disabilities.
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8. Content that is harmful to children and minors in any way.
9. References to any type of sexual activity and other private matters.
10. Random and inflammatory statements that are off topic.
11. Advertising of any kind.
12. Typing in all caps.
WE ENCOURAGE REASONABLE AND COURTEOUS COMMENTS THAT:
1. Create conversation on issues of interest and concern to fellow readers and local community members.
2. Express opinions and contrarian views.
3. Stimulate debate with respectful language.
4. Stay within the boundaries of these rules.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE ACCESS FOR:
1. Violating any of these Online Rules of Conduct.
2. Deliberately disrupting discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or spam.
3. Misrepresentation of identity or impersonating another user.
WE WELCOME:
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MONITORING:
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April 17, 2008
Dinner to raise funds for boy
Roxbury 2-year-old has muscle disease
- Local News
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Motorist rolls truck, charged with drunken driving
