Family of infant with cancer appreciates words of encouragement and fundraiser
COSHOCTON – Frankie Baker is a fighter.
When the 8 ½ month old was 10 days old he had a large tumor removed from his left side. He was supposed to be fine, but that unfortunately wasn’t the case. Baker has spent his young life fighting a type of pediatric cancer called Neuroblastoma.
“On March 5 he coded and spent the whole month intubated,” said his mom Dawn (Chaney) Baker, who is a 2000 graduate of Coshocton High School. “We couldn’t hold him the whole month, but he’s doing a lot better now. He’s come leaps and bounds.”
Dawn and her husband Ben live in the Columbus area and also are the parents of Patrick, who is 4-years-old and Simon who is 2-years-old. Dawn stepped away from her career to spend every day with Frankie at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus and Ben works a couple of days a week.
“Patrick knows cancer isn’t good and he misses us, but he also knows that Frankie is sick and someone has to be with him,” Dawn said.
A yard sale to help the family is planned for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, May 8, at the corner of Hay Place and Orange Street. The rain date is Friday, May 15. One hundred percent of the proceeds from this sale will benefit the Bakers. If you are interested in donating items, contact Mary at 740-622-5250. You also can follow Frankie’s story on Facebook by looking up the page Frankie’s Fight, which has more than 4,600 likes.
“Support from everyone is what keeps us going,” Dawn said. “We’ve had a lot of bad days and really our future is very scary. We are unsure of the health of our child, our finances and our future, but people continue to help us in all facets with everything from prayer to paying a gas bill to sending us cookies to share with the staff. We really are very lucky.”
If all goes well, Frankie should be able to leave the hospital by mid June, but his treatments will continue until the end of fall.
“Facebook is the easiest way to see what’s going on and the little comments people leave on pictures and videos is very nice,” Dawn said.
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Uncategorized
