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Connor Richardson. Photo from the Richardson family

A Smithtown father is looking to honor his young son’s memory by pledging to continue the battle against pediatric cancer in his name.

Wayne Richardson is pairing up with The Park Lounge in Kings Park to host the first Connor R. Richardson Forever One Pediatric Cancer Foundation Tournament July 22 from 1 to 5 p.m. The event — featuring a tournament of the outdoor beanbag toss game Cornhole — will be a tribute to Richardson’s late son, Connor, who died in January after a six-month battle with cancer.

“I promised him I’d cure this thing and it gives his life more meaning,” Richardson said.

“I promised him I’d cure this thing and it gives his life more meaning.”

— Wayne Richardson

Connor was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer called aggressive teratoid rhabdoid tumor in August 2017, when he was only seven months old. Less than 10 percent of children with brain tumors have the same type of Connor’s diagnosis, according to St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital in Memphis.

Richardson said his son and wife, Janida, spent months living at St. Jude’s while Connor was an inpatient. He underwent extensive chemotherapy treatment in hopes of defeating the cancer.

“I knew it was going to be difficult, but I was hoping it would at least be a couple of years,” his father said.

Richardson said he is grateful for how St. Jude’s staff treated his family while they were there, and keeps in touch with his son’s doctors. He recalled how for Connor’s first birthday in December 2017 his son received not one, but two birthday cakes from staff. Now, Richardson wants to pay his family’s kind treatment forward.

The Cornhole tournament at the July 22 fundraiser will cost $15 per player or $30 per team, all of which, along with gift basket raffles and all donations, will be donated directly to St. Jude’s, according to Richardson. A Kings Park High School alumnus, he’s had the support of The Park Lounge in helping put together the event.

“It all helps, it’s all bullets in the gun against cancer.”

— Wayne Richardson

“He’s a Kings Parker and he hangs out here” said Michele Cocco, an employee of The Park Lounge.

Richardson said the event will also be used to kick start the Connor R. Richardson Forever One Pediatric Cancer Foundation, with which he hopes to raise money to provide continuous support for St. Jude’s and help research ways to fight pediatric cancer.

Since Connor’s death, Richardson said he’s been learning about another former of pediatric brain cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, which affects the brain stem. On average, less than 10 percent of children diagnosed with DIPG survive for two years, according to Michael Mosier Defeat DIPG Foundation, a nonprofit committed to finding a cure for the disease. Richardson, a retired New York City police officer, said he hopes to one day work with computer programmers to help track DIPG and other pediatric cancers in order to pin down the causes and fund research to develop a cure. He frequents Stony Brook University’s medical library, so he can study up on the cancer and similar ones that took his son and still threatens the lives other children, he said.

“It all helps, it’s all bullets in the gun against cancer,” Richardson said.

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Tom Lambui leads a dog through an obstacle course designed to distract at the Paws of War Nesconset facility. Photo by Kyle Barr

Those servicemen and women who have had their dog trained at the Nesconset nonprofit Paws of War know the best companion to have when past trauma returns, is a trained service dog at their side.

“You can’t imagine how much dogs make an impact on your life,” said Frank James, a retired police officer from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

James is training his dog Bailey for service dog certification through Paws of War, an organization which helps provide service dogs and train them for retired service members. The former police officer said having a service dog has helped him deal with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder after being at the scene of the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Russell Keyser sits with his service dog, Artemis. Photo by Kyle Barr

“She’s helped significantly, really significantly,” he said.

For the last five years, Paws of War has provided service dogs and emotional support dogs along with the necessary training to veterans of all stripes, from those in the armed services to former cops and emergency responders. Robert Misseri, a co-founder of Paws of War, said the nonprofit provides the training for service members entirely free of charge.

“If they are approved, we train their dog at the very least, with all behavioral training to work toward a service animal for their needs,” Misseri said.

U.S. Army veteran Russell Keyzer, of Ronkonkoma, said he got his service dog,  Artemis, through Paws of War three years ago. Artemis has helped Keyzer get through the most difficult parts of his post-military life, including managing the effects of his PTSD.

“I was in really, really bad shape when I got her.” he said. “I got her at two months old, and I started training right away. Things were a lot more therapeutic on my end — to get back to that normal life.”

Keyzer said Artemis helped save him during a difficult situation at a June 22 Foreigner concert at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater. When the lights flashed and the music cut through the noise of the
audience, Keyzer said he started to tense up and his PTSD that has haunted him since he left the Army, started to creep into his head. He knew he couldn’t be there anymore.

Paws of War trains service dogs, like Phoenix, for veterans, former law enforcement and first responders. Photo by Kyle Barr

“Get me the (expletive) out of here,” Keyzer recalled saying to Artemis.

With his hand wrapped around the dog’s leash, Artemis helped guide the distraught veteran through the crowd, away from the noise and the lights, until they reached emergency medical personnel.

Suffolk County officials have come to recognize Paws of War and the work it does. On July 2, Suffolk Sheriff  Errol Toulon Jr. (D) announced a 2-year-old black Labrador named Rocky to be trained by inmate Jermaine, a veteran himself diagnosed with PTSD who is currently serving time at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Yaphank. Jermaine will train the dog twice a week for eight weeks, before Rocky will be given to Babylon resident Harry Stolberg, a single father and Marine Corps veteran who also has PTSD.

Those interested can watch Rocky’s training live online at the website www.suffolksheriff.com with the first broadcast scheduled for July 4.

Misseri said that so many veterans have become interested in the program that the organization needs to move into a larger space. They have already picked one out — a storefront located in the same Nesconset Plaza shopping center on Smithtown Boulevard as their current home. Misseri said the new location would provide the organization with hundreds more square feet of space.

Mark Hayward works on training his service dog, Phoenix, at VetDogs in Nesconset. Photo by Kyle Barr

“We could really serve so many more veterans,” Misseri said. “There’s plenty of people who want to go into a class with our current space, but we can only take 10 people per lesson — in this new space we could take 30.”

Paws of War is entirely funded by donations and spends most of its money paying for dog trainers. It is seeking out volunteer plumbers, painters, electricians, carpenters, floor specialists and sign makers to help renovate the new shop.

In the meantime, veterans find hope for the future in the form of their dogs. Mark Hayward, an Army veteran who participated in Operation Desert Storm, walked his dog, Phoenix, through obstacles designed to
distract her. Every time she went through the course without turning her head, Hayward would look down and smile at her.

“It’s between night and day from before I got her in 2016 and now,” he said. “She helps me get out and do things a lot more. I named her Phoenix because, like they say, she is helping me rise from the ashes.”

Those veterans who are interested in obtaining a service dog, or individuals willing to volunteer their assistance in the organization’s upcoming move, can contact Paws of War at at 631-367-7297 or online at www.pawsofwar.org.

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TTG Board members Susan Emro (left) and Elizabeth Sprauer with Suffolk Legislator William R. Spencer Photo courtesy of TTG

Township Theatre Group (TTG), Long Island’s oldest continuously operating volunteer community theatre company, was recently awarded a 2018 Omnibus Grant for $7,000 through the office of Suffolk County Legislator William R. Spencer, MD. The grant is administered through the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning and is directed to cultural programs relevant to the enhancement of the tourism industry in Suffolk County, including theatrical activities. Spencer’s 18th Legislative District encompasses the Huntington area where TTG was founded in 1952 and currently performs.

“TTG greatly appreciates the support of Suffolk County and especially Legislator Spencer’s commitment to the arts in the Long Island community,” said Susan Emro, President, Township Theatre Group. The grant will assist with production costs for the group’s Spring Season musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” from June 2 to 16. Details can be found at www.townshiptheatregroup.org.

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From left, Kevin J. O’Neill; Rev. Rachel Vione (Interim Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Northport); Donna Galluccio (Chairperson of the Ecumenical Lay Council Food Pantry); Martha Keller (Manager of the food pantry); and Richard T. Dolce. Photo courtesy of Engeman Theater

GIVING BACK: On March 6, co-owners of the John W. Engeman Theater, Richard T. Dolce and Kevin J. O’Neill, presented a check for $50,000 to the Ecumenical Lay Council Food Pantry of Northport. This is the fourth year that the Engeman Theater has raised funds for the Food Pantry and the First Presbyterian Church of Northport, which hosts the Food Pantry. Following each performance of the 2017 holiday production of “Annie,” cast members collected donations from audience members for the food pantry. “We’re very appreciative of the generosity of our patrons,” O’Neill said. “It sounds a bit cliché, but it’s true: community begets community. We feel it’s very important to invest back into our community in any way we can.”

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Three-day free medical clinic to treat more than 1,000 residents in need

A doctor speaks with patients at the 2017 free medical clinic in Haiti. Photo from Ginette Rows.

It’s easy to be critical of the severe problems Haiti faces, but a group of Huntington residents are taking on the challenge of finding a solution to its health care problems.

Two Huntington residents have organized a group to fly to Haiti Feb. 16 to launch their second free mobile medical clinic to provide basic medical services to those in desperate need.

“Last year was the first time we did a clinic,” Pastor Georges Franck said. “It was so successful that we decided to do it again last year.”

Franck, leader of Huntington Station’s Church of God, is working in partnership with Yam Community Resource Inc., a Huntington Station-based nonprofit that offers quality-of-life services for the Haitian community, to assemble a team of medical professionals to run a three-day medical clinic in Aquin, a city on the southern coast of Haiti.

“We expected we will have maybe 100 people a day, and we ended up at least 300 a day,” said Ginette Rows, president of Yam Community Resource. “By the time we finished, we saw 1,079 people. This year, I expect more.”

Huntington resident Ginette Rows, far right, and Pastor Georges Franck, far leg, with volunteers at the 2017 medical clinic in Haiti. Photo from Ginette Rows.

Since Hurricane Matthew devastated the island in October 2016, Rows said it has been a struggle to rebuild as the hurricane was the first of a chain of natural disasters that has led to high unemployment rates. Word of the medical clinic is spread primarily via word of mouth, according to Rows. Locals from the surrounding villages will travel long distances — often walking for hours — in hopes of being seen by a physician.

“The people we are seeing do not have the financial means to pay for medical care,” she said. “If you have money, the priority is feeding the family, shelter and paying for school.”

Donations are collected from the approximately 120 members of the Huntington parish to purchase basic medical supplies, such as scales, and over-the-counter medication, according to its pastor. Franck said medications like Advil, which may cost $6 or $8 in the U.S., may wind up costing $12 to $13 in Haiti due to increased costs of shipping and accessibility. Each volunteer pays his or her own travel costs and expenses.

The hundreds who line up to visit the clinic each day are screened by a team of nurses, Rows said, who is a nurse herself. The nurses take their blood pressure, pulse, medical history and check blood sugar to screen for diabetes. Among the most common issues are malnutrition, maternal care, dental issues and high blood pressure.

“There are 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds that are severely underweight,” Rows said. “Last year we weren’t prepared to weigh them, so we’ve shipped down our own scales, so we can see how big of an issue it is.”

Her goal, as a Haitian immigrant whose father was among the first to come to Huntington in the 1960s, is to collect organized data on the specific medical issues treated to recruit specialists to join the team at future clinics to improve Haitians’ quality of life. She hopes to eventually build a permanent partnership with local hospitals and medical organizations to improve the standards of preventative health care for residents.

“I consider myself a member of the Haitian family,” Rows said. “Regardless of religion, I am there to assist them in some way.”

To learn more about Yam Community Resource, visit its website at www.yamcommunity.com.

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An i-tri girl crosses the finish line of the marathon. Photo from i-tri girls

Nonprofits are working toward creating stronger support for females.

L.I. Against Domestic Violence provides a range of services to Long Island adults and children, helping them escape from abusive relationships and build new lives. I-tri girls, a free program, works to raise the self-esteem of middle school-aged girls on the Island’s East End by training them for a triathlon.

“[We need] to bring young girls into this discussion and to recognize that this isn’t just happening to us in our 20s and 30s and 40s, but this is happening to our 10-year-olds and our 12-year-olds, it’s so important,”
said Cindy Morris, chief operating officer of i-tri girls.

Many of the children in the program don’t know how to swim or ride a bike.

“We not only teach them how to set a goal, but we teach them how to work toward a goal,” Morris said. “And when you have done something that you think is impossible once, you are so likely to see yourself capable of doing that [again].”

Bethpage-based The Safe Center LI, Islandia-based Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk, and The Suffolk County Crime Victims Center all work to help victims of domestic abuse.

County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) said nonprofits are vital in educating young people and women. Many provide educational programs in schools.

“Women and children should not be afraid to speak up,” Anker said. “I think it’s really important presentations start in schools.”

Executive director of LIADV, Colleen Merlo, said in a phone interview local legislators are receptive to receiving advice on taking measures to end domestic and sexual abuse.

“This is the start of what’s going to be a years-long process to try to bring Long Island to a place that really is safe,” Merlo said. “Where men and women can feel safe from sexual assault. It’s going to take more work.”

• L.I. Against Domestic Violence — www.liadv.org / 631-666-7181

• i-tri girls — itrigirls.org / 631-902-3731

• Suffolk County Crime Victims Center — www.parentsformeganslaw.org / 631-689-2672

• The Safe Center LI — www.tscli.org / 516-465-4700

• Victims Information Bureau — www.vibs.org / 631-360-3730

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