Dinner benefits Upper St. Clair girl, 10, with brain tumor
The outpouring of support for the family of Anna Fera started as soon as the 10-year-old was diagnosed in April with a medulloblastoma brain tumor.
The backing from the community continues with a benefit spaghetti dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 16 in the St. Thomas More Parish Family Life Center, 126 Fort Couch Road, Bethel Park.
Anna, an Upper St. Clair resident and Baker Elementary School fourth-grader, has been treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., including radiation, multiple blood transfusions and chemotherapy. Her condition is a cancerous tumor that starts at the base of the skull and has the possibility of spreading to other parts of the brain and to the spinal cord, according to the hospital.
Her parents, Mike and Jodi, have frequently made accommodations for Anna’s siblings to visit her: Olivia, 13; Mike, 12; and Sophia, who just turned 7.
Jodi Fera acknowledged the efforts of others on the family’s behalf.
“We are so blessed to have so many thoughtful and caring people in our lives, and we are forever grateful,” she said. “We want to thank our family, St. Thomas More Church, our friends from near and far, our neighbors on Tall Trees Drive, our Bulldog Office Products family, our prayer warriors from all over the country, our schools and our whole community.”
She also extended “a special thank you to Michele Liberatore, Kerry Mindach, Diane Depasquale, Mary Beth Pearson and the Rev. James Farnan in organizing this very special dinner and for all the volunteers who will put in their time and effort to make it happen.”
Tickets are available in advance at the church’s parish and religious education offices, at $10 for adults and $6 for children under 10. At the door on Friday, tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children.
A well-attended benefit magic show in the summer at Baker School helped Anna’s cause. More recently, sewing enthusiasts gathered at St. Thomas More to produce Christmas pillowcases and knit hats for the children at St. Jude.
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