Half-Century of Health Fundraiser pays tribute to free-of-charge children’s hospital

By Lisa Aurand

The number 50 is on a lot of minds as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital prepares to celebrate its golden anniversary – but to Colleen Konkus, the most important number is 18.

That’s how many years passed between her first and second life-saving visits to the hospital.

Konkus, now a Hilliard resident, first visited St. Jude in Memphis, Tenn. in 1983, at age 10. What many doctors and specialists thought was just an inflamed lymph node turned out to be non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Konkus ended up spending the summer at St. Jude receiving chemotherapy and radiation.

Still, her memories of her time at St. Jude – playing with the other children undergoing treatment, swimming in the pool at the hotel where she and her family stayed – are positive.

“I knew I had cancer, but I didn’t know the degree of what my family was going through,” Konkus says. “St. Jude was wonderful. Everything there is designed around kids.”

After moving to central Ohio, Konkus met the Karam family on the sidelines of her daughter’s soccer game. J. David and Lisa Karam, co-chair the local Discover the Dream event, an annual fundraiser for the hospital, which has raised more than $1.7 million for St. Jude since its inception seven years ago.

“Discover the Dream has grown into the largest gala in the region to support St. Jude,” David Karam says.

There is no charge to families for care; the hospital depends on donations to help pay for its daily operating cost, which is currently $1.7 million.

When Konkus visited St. Jude for a research study in September of last year, doctors discovered a problem with her thyroid and had to remove it and a mass in her throat. The information St. Jude saved from Konkus’ 1983 treatment was vital to her treatment.

As a parent herself now, Konkus says she can’t express how much it means to know that St. Jude is there for her children, should they need it.

“We’re very blessed to have a place like St. Jude,” she says. “Being a patient and having that scare in September really makes you think through things about how precious life is.”

This year’s Discover the Dream event, scheduled for 6 p.m. May 17 at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, will feature food, cocktails and a silent auction. Tickets are $150 each or $1,500 for a table of 10.

For more information, visit www.stjude. org/discoverthedream. cs

Lisa Aurand is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@pubgroupltd.com.