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Child's battle with cancer inspires benefit concert
For St. Cloud couple Matt and Brenda Hulst, life has been quite tumultuous since their son Cody was diagnosed with Wilms tumors in January of 2001.
For five-year-old Cody, the Hulsts' only son, most of his life has been consumed by medical tests. As a baby, it was brought to his parents' attention that one leg was larger than the other, and he was then diagnosed with the disease HemiHypertrophy, where one body part is considerably larger than the rest.
This spawned much concern among the family, being that the disease often corresponds with cancerous tumors. For the next three-and-a-half years, Cody had to have a CT scan every three months.
On one fearful day in January of 2001, Cody woke up in extreme pain; a tumor on his kidney had burst.
He was then rushed to Children's Hospital, where his left kidney was removed. He's had several aggressive treatments through chemotherapy and other drugs.
From there, Cody has been through a variety of horrific illnesses, including anorexia. At one point he spent almost every day in the hospital. The weakened muscles in the back of Cody's feet made it so he couldn't walk, and he had to have braces. His body has been through so much that some months they had to skip treatment.
Cody recently had his first check-up after completion of all the intense therapy. Just as the Hulsts thought their nightmares would alleviate, it was discovered that the cancer had spread to his lungs.
But the Hulsts are not giving up hope; Cody is undergoing experimental treatments, and until then, everyone is keeping a positive attitude.
"(Cody)'s a really strong kid, and he's got a positive attitude," said Greg Armstrong, keyboardist for G.B. Leighton and long-time friend and co-worker of Matt Hulst at Creative Radio, a company that writes radio jingles.
Many people in the community are coming together to raise money for the in-debt Hulst family. REM Fernwood, the company for which Brenda Hulst works part-time as an on-call residential counselor, recently held a spaghetti supper. Also, Atonement Luther Church is holding a benefit breakfast on Feb. 24.
The Red Carpet, however, is taking a different approach: a benefit concert. On Sunday eight bands will play for Cody's cause. Rock 'n' roll trivia will be played and a signed-guitars auction will take place. Also, there will be $2,000 in giveaways that include DVDs, DVD players, gift certificates and bar tabs to various bars in St. Cloud. Donations will be given, and a portion of the proceeds from the food and alcohol will be given to the Hulsts, as well.
"It's been awesome working with this, because everyone works so hard, and the music community is so great," Armstrong said.
The doors open at 3 p.m. and the music starts at four. Xenolith plays first, with Killer Hayseeds up second. Switch is next, with an acoustic set immediately following. After that, Pamela McNeill plays, and then Roger, the band that is opening up for the upcoming Soul Asylum show. G.B. Leighton is the last act, with Slip Twister going onstage before them. G.B. Leighton will be with special guests Christy Love and Boogie Wonderland.
Bar Manager Troy Rahn says of the event, "It's a good benefit for a great cause."
Britt Johnsen can be reached at: [email protected]
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