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.
