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GILBERT SUN NEWS | AUGUST 29, 2021
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Water tower changes colors in boy’s honor BY ASHLYN ROBINETTE GSN Contributor
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t was a bittersweet moment for Allison D’Ambrosia Bones last Wednesday as the Gilbert Water Tower was lit orange for three days. Bones lost her 4-year-old son Travis to the reason behind the color change. At the same time, it also marked another milestone in Bones’ effort to raise awareness of the birth defect that took Travis from her. Travis died from Isolated Congenital Asplenia, a genetic birth defect that leaves a child with a partial spleen, none at all or a non-functioning organ. In Travis’ honor, Bones started T.E.A.M. 4 Travis, the only organization in the world dedicated to raising awareness of ICA. “Travis brought laughter, smiles and fun to every moment,” Bones said. “He collected friends everywhere he went. T.E.A.M. 4 Travis helps me share his light and love of life and does something good to help other kids.” Gov. Doug Ducey declared Aug. 25,
As she waited for the Water Tower to light up, Allison D’Ambrosia Bones last Wednesday held a picture of her late son, Travis. (Pablo Robles/GSN Staff Photographer) the third anniversary of Travis’ death, T.E.A.M. 4 Travis Asplenia Awareness Day in Arizona. Bones shared her son’s story and her nonprofit’s mission with the Gilbert Town Council and invited them to see the Gilbert Water Tower lit in Travis’ favorite
color from Aug. 25-27. “I hope that people will see the water tower and take a chance to learn more about Asplenia,” Bones said. “I hope that they’ll consider Travis’ story and reach out to us to look for other ways to get involved.”
years,” she said. “It’s a safe space where I can play and create freely. It’s the place that I can say that outside of my family’s influence, shaped me into the person I am today. “From being one of the performers to myself then being one of those adults shaping the performers who came after me, it’s been an honor to be part of EVCT’s impact on our community,” she added. For nearly 25 years, the Mesa-based children’s theater has shepherded nearly 14,000 youth ages 5 to 18 who have donned costumes, assumed roles, walked, danced, sung and spoken their
practiced words on stage. The nonprofit has produced 86 shows and has grown from a single production and workshop in the first year to a full-service theater offering numerous additional programs, classes, camps and performance troupes among them. It’s also known for its playwriting contest, presenting original works for children annually. EVCT was an all-volunteer organization until two years ago, when it hired an office manager and a bookkeeper. Its current annual budget is about $250,000 and its main donors have included The Boeing Co. of Mesa and Arizona Commis-
The spleen is a vital part of the immune defense system. It fights against infections by producing antibodies and filters our blood, removing old red blood cells and bacteria from circulation. Without a functioning spleen, a bacterial infection could kill a child. “Travis was perfectly healthy,” Bones said. “We never had any indication that he was born without a spleen and that the spleen was such a critical part of a young child’s immune system.” In ICA, there are no other developmental abnormalities, which makes detection of the life-threatening condition difficult. In addition, the spleen is not palpable and prenatal screenings for the defect do not exist. For this reason, ICA is severely underdiagnosed and oftentimes not detected until after a child dies. It wasn’t until Travis suddenly passed from sepsis that his autopsy revealed his ICA. “I figured that if I didn’t know, as involved and overprotective as I was, how
see TOWER page 17
EV Children’s Theatre marks 25 years BY SRIANTHI PERERA GSN Contributor
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25-year-long love letter to creating, performing, growing and making friends that have become
family. That’s how C. Lynn Johnson describes East Valley Children’s Theatre. The Gilbert woman’s talents run the gamut from theater hair stylist to playwright, all of which have won her awards. As a teen, she starred in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the theater’s first production. “EVCT has been family to me for 25
sion on the Arts. “I just enjoy working with the theater; I enjoy the kids,” said Karen Rolston, the producing artistic director who played a vital role in the theater’s development. Rolston, a teacher from Mesa Public Schools, Chandler-Gilbert Community College and Arizona State University, took on the theater in her retirement. Now that the 25th season is about to begin, she plans to retire in earnest. Also departing is Kathie McMahon, who served in many roles within the organization, the last as past president, head of the
see THEATRE page 17
