Perry Sievert benefit

They say life is a journey, but when the journey takes an unexpected turn along the way, the road can get very bumpy.  

For Perry Sievert of Calmar, the last three years have been a rough road. Perry was diagnosed in the fall of 2015 with cancer. He fought hard and won. 

Unfortunately, two years later in the fall of 2017, scans showed that the cancer was back. Once again, Perry faced it head-on by enduring an aggressive stem-cell transplant therapy. He was required to stay at Mayo Clinic for weeks of exhaustingly long and painful treatments. Once again he beat the cancer. 

Tragically, Perry found out a couple weeks ago through a new scan that the cancer has returned. The options are limited, but a new procedure called Car T cell therapy, just recently approved by the FDA, is possibly going to be his next treatment. As with all medical treatment, there are some things that are not covered by insurance, not to mention loss of work time, expenses for gas and lodging, and food while under treatment.  

As a gesture to help the Sievert family with the expenses they are enduring, a group of their friends and family members have put together a benefit event. The goal is to help with any expenses that Perry and his wife, Sheryl, may encounter in his battle to beat cancer and stay cancer-free.  

This event will start at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at the Waucoma Event Center in Waucoma.  A freewill-donation meal will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A silent auction will be ongoing during the day, and a live auction will start at 1 p.m.  The committee is seeking items for both the silent and live auctions. Please call Dianne at (563) 380-7279, Sally at (563) 380-3149 or Beth at (563) 380-4461. 

Cash donations are also appreciated and may be deposited into the Perry Sievert Benefit account at State Bank in Calmar or Ossian or at the GoFundMe page set up at  https://www.gofundme.com/help-perry-sievert-beat-cancer.  

Perry grew up in the West Union area, and he and Sheryl married in 1979. They are the parents of three sons, Bryan, Kyle and Tyler, and grandparents to an adorable crew. The committee would appreciate your help in passing on this information to your friends and family that may not be in the local area.