Family, Friends Unite to Fight for Drew

Drew Ames enjoyed sitting in the front row of his preschool classroom and singing loudly whenever he joined his classmates in song. All the 3-year-old knows now is that he has a big "owwie" and has to see the doctor often.

The big "owwie" is a rare, aggressive form of brain cancer.

Next week, supporters of the Ames family will pack for a to raise money for Drew's fight with cancer.

Drew was diagnosed June 14, and has to receive a minimum of 12 months of chemotherapy and radiation at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

His mother, Dayna Ames, a veterinarian, knew something was wrong May 21 when she saw her son walk with a limp and experience involuntary muscle contractions in his leg, said Debbie Snyder, Drew's aunt. “We were at a birthday party and he had come over a few days before—and he fell, and that whole day he was limping."

A few days later, they noticed he was walking strangely. "Almost like something was wrong with his hip," she said.

Three weeks later, Drew saw a pediatric neurologist who told the Ames family that Drew would need an immediate MRI, which confirmed his tumor. He underwent surgery June 16 to remove the tumor. When he returned home from the hospital June 19, the Ames family had two days to prepare for the birth of Drew’s baby sister, Kelsey Ames, who was born June 21.

Drew started chemo July 6. Since then, he and his parents drive Drew to Children’s Memorial every three weeks for his treatments and usually a few times in between treatments for fevers, said his grandmother, Joan Wardell.

“This has been our lives since chemo started July 6,” she said. “His body is so worn out.”

While he’s a little too young to know what’s happening to his body, Wardell said Drew knows he had a big “owwie,” and that he has to see the doctors a lot, “and he’s accepting it.”

So is Blake, 3, Snyder’s son, Drew’s cousin and best friend. “Blake has been doing so good with it all. They’re at that age where they don’t want to share their toys but he knows that Drew’s sick. He can just tell something’s different. When we’re with him he’s a bit more calm, and he’s had to mature a bit. We see him (Drew) at the hospital and he (Blake) just jumps right up on the bed and they play monster trucks, or whatever it is they’re into,” Snyder said.

Tena Baer, Drew’s former preschool teacher at , said that though he may not feel well, Drew has the same “sparkle” he had in her class. He was always a front row-sitter and the loudest singer, who is eager to please and proud of his family, she said.

Baer recalled something that "tickled" her about Drew in class. "In his little lunchbox tote he took his mom’s business card. He adored that card and everyday he’d be sitting and waiting, and he’d take the card out and flash it and show us who his mom is.

“That comes from the upbringing and a very strong network of brothers and sisters,” she said.

That strong bond is evident in the support the Ames family is receiving. Drew's grandparents, Wardell and grandfather Leslie Wardell who have five children of their own, operate a dental practice in Glen Ellyn, and Snyder, one of their daughters, is a stay-at-home mom. Together, they work to take over Dayna Ames’ day-to-day routine when needed.

“It has rocked our world to the very core and in the very, very beginning when we got the news and had to deal, I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t function for probably three solid weeks,” Wardell said.

But Wardell knew she had to grapple with the circumstances, "Either you're going to go into a hole or kick yourself in the butt and get moving," she said.

After Drew’s surgery, the family started learning what their insurance would cover. "Insurance pays a lot but, even so, the bills are so huge," Snyder said. 

"With them (Drew’s parents) not being able to work … they don’t have the same income coming in, plus they’re being bombarded with all these bills so we knew we had to do something," she said. “So many people were willing to help.”

On Monday, Oct. 10, the Elite Feet Dance Center is hosting a “Barbie Princess Charm School” event. And on Friday, Oct. 14, more than 250 people will dine at Wheaton Bowl, 2031 N. Geneva Ave., Wheaton, and bid on more than 150 auction items ranging from Bears, Blackhawks and Bulls tickets, golf packages, gift certificates and party packages.

Drew’s support system reaches beyond Illinois. His aunt in San Antonio, TX, is hosting a fundraiser yard sale this weekend and will send the proceeds to the Ames family.

The Oct. 14 spaghetti dinner fundraiser starts at 5 p.m. to accommodate carry-out orders benefitting Drew. The limited, reserved-seating dinner, catered by Pal Joey’s Pizza, begins at 6 p.m., and raffles will be conducted throughout the evening. The live auction begins at 8 p.m.

So far, the family has raised $16,324 for Drew, and hope to raise $10,000 more next week. Their goal is to raise a total of $50,000. Fundraising information for Drew is on the blog, TeamDrew.org.

“We do feel in our hearts he’ll get through this in a year and a half and it’ll be behind us,” Wardell said. “It’ll be a life-changing thing in the long run but you have to feel … that there is a good outcome and he’ll run and play ball and go to school—because that’s the hope and faith you have to have to get through these hard days.”