Benefit dinner to help Pearson family Nov. 12
A benefit spaghetti dinner for Bruce Pearson will be held Sunday, Nov. 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Dover. The event will help raise money to defray expenses associated with Pearson’s ongoing journey with cancer. The dinner is $8 for adults and $4 for children age 4-10.
Earlier this year Pearson, 61, began having odd symptoms indicating some kind of neurological issues. He was falling down and was soon unable to drive. By August, after a battery of tests for a variety of possible issues, it was discovered he had an aggressive mass growing in the frontal lobe of his brain. Surgery to remove the softball-sized grade IV glioblastoma was successful, but Pearson will require treatment for the foreseeable future.
“He’s hanging in there,” said Connie Griffin, Pearson’s sister. “He actually tolerates the chemotherapy and radiation well. There have just been these setbacks and obstacles that keep coming up.”
First, an infection at the surgery site required another round under the knife and a course of antibiotics, delaying cancer treatment. More recently, a COVID-19 diagnosis has Pearson and wife Samantha in quarantine in the hospital.
“He just wants to get back to the routine of cancer treatment, which is the new normal for him. The first round of treatment is five days a week for six weeks, followed by further indefinite treatments. He’s fighting this thing all the way,” Griffin said.
In addition to the routine course of therapy, Pearson is participating in clinical trials with additional chemotherapy and radiation treatments, expected to boost his prognosis for a longer life.
“The tumor was so large we thought it must have been growing for a long time,” Griffin said, “but that’s not the case. The surgeon said this likely grew to that size in just a couple of months. It’s a very aggressive form of cancer. Bruce wants to resume treatment so this thing doesn’t have a chance to grow again.”
Pearson is employed by Greer Steel of Dover.
“They have been really wonderful through this and very caring for Bruce and his family,” Griffin said.
Both Pearson and his wife are on leave from their jobs while focusing on his care. With mounting bills and expenses, the benefit dinner will help as the family continues to deal with the illness.
The spaghetti dinner will feature silent auctions, a 50-50 drawing and raffles. “We have more than 40 baskets filled with good things which have been donated for auction,” Griffin said, “and there are about a dozen bigger ticket items we will be raffling. There’s a good variety of things people can win.”
Included in the the raffle are a barbecue pit, half a hog, a collection of OSU items and player signatures, a basket filled with restaurant and retail gift cards and lottery tickets, one filled with clothing and jewelry, and a 55-inch television. Also available for raffle are several baskets of rare tequilas and bourbons. Raffle tickets are $5 for one or $20 for five, available at the dinner or by texting Julie McCoy at 330-324-5884.
T-shirts also are available in adult and youth sizes for $12. Send a text to Griffin at 330-805-0454 to preorder a shirt. Donations also can be made on behalf of Pearson at gofundme.com/f/support-teamBAP or via Venmo by searching “Team BAP.”
The meal includes spaghetti, meatball, salad, roll, dessert and a beverage. St. John’s UCC is at 409 N. Wooster Ave. in Dover.
