Benefit to help family cover cost

NEW GLASGOW - A benefit is being planned to help the Mills family with their son Jeremey's medical expenses. Four-year-old Jeremey, who is scheduled to undergo open heart surgery at the IWK on Tuesday, will have a lot of expenses to help treat his Marfan's syndrome. In addition to the costs of travel to the IWK - usually between three and six trips a month for regular appointments - his parents aren't sure how long they'll be in Halifax with him as he recovers from surgery. He also needs specialized shoes to help stabilize his ankles, which cost $600 and need to be replaced frequently as his feet grow. He also requires pricey orthopedic inserts, steel rods inserted along his spine, braces and specialized glasses. A lot of the costs are covered by MSI, but Adalai lost his job recently, as well as his benefits. That's left the family struggling, they admit. With three older children as well, they try to save every dollar they can for Jeremey's needs, but Adalai hasn't been able to find another job as they await Jeremey's surgery. "It's so hard," said his father, Adalai Mills. "I'd love to go to work tomorrow, but I'd have to ask my employer right away for a couple weeks off so I can be with him while he goes through this surgery." Vanessa, meanwhile, is a stay at home mom, her main job being ensuring her son remains as healthy as possible. "If something does go wrong, he can't be with a babysitter, they wouldn't know what to do for him," she said. "I need to be with my son." Annette MacLean heard about the family's plight and has organized a benefit that will be held at the Glasgow Pub on Nov. until close, donations will be accepted at the door and raffles will be sold to help raise funds for the family. MacLean didn't know the family until she saw a barbecue held outside a Sobey's store in the summer. "I wondered what his story was, and I went over to ask Adalai," she said "He explained what was wrong and told me how often Jeremey has to go to the IWK and I knew I had to do something to help. He's just a little boy." It's hoped, she said, a lot of people will attend and donate whatever they can to the cause. "It's a lot for a little child his age to deal with, so I'm hoping the community will come and help him," she said. "The people of Pictou County are very, very kind and generous. Pictou County always looks after its own, and I'm hoping the benefit will be very successful."