Wednesday, September 15, 1999
Triathlete races for girl with cancer
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
When one competitor crosses the starting line in a qualifier for the national Ironman triathlon, he'll be swimming, biking and running for himself and for a 6-year-old Cold Spring girl.
Pat Frew will attempt to complete more than 140 miles in and around Pleasant Hill Park near Mansfield, Ohio, on Sept. 25. On his mind will be the little girl from Northern Kentucky who has cancer.
“I don't have the Ironman body,” said Mr. Frew, a 5-foot-10, 220-pound man from Madeira. “I'm not the profile of an iron man. My diet doesn't indicate that either.”
But for some reason, he's always had endurance.
“Life is hard,” he said. “I've never been somebody who's fast, but I have a great deal of endurance.”
He hopes in this race his endurance will last the longest of any of the others he's competed in because he's asking people to make pledges for each mile he finishes.
His goal is to raise $10,000 for Julia Oehrle for family and medical expenses. He has already raised about $2,600 from co-workers and members of his church.
“It's not just to raise money but to raise awareness for this type of cancer,” he said.
Mr. Frew, who has never competed in a full Ironman triathlon — only a half — said he was looking for the opportunity to do some good for someone who needed help.
His wife's friend, whose attends the Oehrles' church, told him of the little girl's story.
Julia was diagnosed with Wilms' tumor, a cancer that occurs in young children, three years ago. Although the type of cancer is usually treatable, Ju lia's has been resistant to treatment.
Doctors removed one of Julia's kidneys, which is where the tumor originated. Multiple treatments, including a bone marrow transplant, have proved unsuccessful.
The family is nearing a
point where options are dwindling with further treatments not serving as a cure but a means of prolonging Julia's life, Mr. Frew said.
“She's just a beautiful little girl,” Mr. Frew said of meeting her a few weeks ago.
She's like any normal first-grader who's in love with rainbows and craves pancakes and marshmallows and, strangely, coffee. And she's always catching any kind of insect.
“I like crickets,” she said.
She plays with her sister, Melissa, who is 7. The two often, like late Tuesday night, giggle out the Brady Bunch theme song into a plastic microphone or watch television.
Carol Oehrle, Julia's mother, said her family is one of strong faith.
“I basically see him (Pat Frew) as an angel that God has sent to us,” she said. Although she's grateful for the support, the money is not important, she said.
“Someone could hand me a million-dollar check today and I'd say, "Thank you,' but that doesn't cure my daughter.”
But everything happens for a reason and so does the way Mr. Frew came into their lives. Mrs. Oehrle said she doesn't know the reason but that her family is grateful.
“I'm not sure I want to know,” she said.
TO DONATE
Tax-deductible contributions can be made payable to the Julia Oehrle Benefit Fund, c/o the First Baptist Church of Cold Spring, 4410 Alexandria Pike, Cold Spring, KY 41076.
For further information, call the church at 441-6184.
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