Holly Hamrick continues to battle a rare form of fatal brain cancer known as stage III astrocytoma.
And now, she has a community behind her.
The mother of Hamrick’s fiance has planned a fundraising comedy dinner show that will include a chance auction.
That event — planned by Lori Taylor — will be Saturday at Cheat Lake Volunteer Fire Department and will raise money for the Holly Hamrick Foundation.
Tickets for the Slap Stick Comedy Show are $20. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show is at 7 p.m.
Tickets are available at slapsticksproductions.com and the majority are presale-only, but Lori Taylor said she will have some reserved at the door.
Hamrick was diagnosed last July, after having a seizure on her way to work.
At the beginning of the year, Hamrick started having severe headaches and blurred vision. She went to the emergency room and doctors discovered fluid in the brain. The doctors thought they had removed the tumor, but it grew larger. Hamrick then had a second brain surgery.
Four weeks and a day after her surgery, Hamrick started getting sick again — intense headaches and vomiting. Her family again took her to the emergency room.
Biopsies were inconclusive. But her cancer was back. The doctors told Hamrick and her family a third surgery would not help.
Lori Taylor said any suggestion she made to the doctors was shot down, leaving her feeling helpless and frustrated for Hamrick.
The doctors said there was not much to be done, beyond continuing chemotherapy. Hamrick faces several treatments with goals to mitigate her symptoms, but that is all, Lori Taylor said.
“All they’re doing is pacifying her time, and she’s going to keep getting sicker,” she said.
Seth Taylor, Hamrick’s fiancé, said she has put up with a lot more than he ever could. He promised her to be supportive with whatever decisions she makes in regard to treatment.
“I told her, no matter what she chooses, I will back her up 110%,” Seth Taylor said.
Several small businesses and friends have been helpful. Seth Taylor said he is very thankful, especially for his neighbor, Ed Ryan.
“He’s a hell of a nice guy,” Seth Taylor said. “Anything I need … all I have to do is call Ed.”
Seth Taylor said Ryan knocked on his door early on a Sunday morning with a piece of paper in his hand.
It was a check made out to the Holly Hamrick Foundation for $500; a nonprofit that Lori Taylor created for Hamrick.
Seth Taylor and Ryan haven’t even been neighbors for a year. Ryan said there are some people you click with, and he has enjoyed getting to know Seth Taylor and Hamrick, who both have great characters.
Outback Steakhouse is also helping. The Morgantown restaurant will provide a pasta Alfredo dinner for Saturday’s show. Lori Taylor said Justin Friend, proprietor of Outback Steakhouse in Morgantown, has been helpful in taking the responsibility of providing the food.
“I knew we could contribute by doing what we do best — feed people,” Friend said. “I felt humbled, yet proud [Lori Taylor] and her family thought of Outback to help.”
Friend said he was touched by Hamrick’s story and inspired to be a part of the event.
“When I heard her story, I thought of my son and how terrible it would be for any person, family member or friend, to endure that kind of pain,” Friend said. “This was a unique situation I’d never encountered before and I knew I had to help.”
In addition to dinner with a show, there will be several baskets as part of a chance auction.
“No one’s going to walk away empty-handed and my hope is that this comedy show [turns out well],” Lori Taylor said.
Additional donations can be mailed to the Holly Hamrick Foundation at 1058 Cheat Road, Morgantown, WV 26508. The foundation will also have a website soon for donations to the nonprofit.
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