Editorial

Cody's home

Thanks to overwhelming generosity, the Phillips family has enough money to catch up on mortgage payments.

The response has been swift and generous to a story in last week's Southeast Missourian about the plight of a Morley, Mo., family in danger of losing their home while their 3-year-old son fights a rare blood disease.

More than $8,500 has been raised in private donations to the Area Wide United Way and a trust fund set up for Cody Phillips at Union Planters Bank and through an online auction conducted by the Southeast Missourian Jr.. All of it is aimed at keeping a California mortgage company from foreclosing on the house Daniel and Angela Phillips and Cody have lived in for a year.

They needed $2,000 to prevent the foreclosure sale that was scheduled for Friday. One Cape Girardeau physician and his wife donated $2,000. An anonymous donor sent the trust fund $2,500.

The Phillipses, both in their early 20s, began falling behind in their mortgage payments last fall, at the same time they rushed Cody to St. Louis children's Hospital and found out he is suffering from a life-threatening disease called aplastic anemia.

Aplastic anemia is caused by the failure of bone marrow to produce blood cells. Cody has had to have platelet transfusions, a full blood transfusion, a liver biopsy and a bone marrow biopsy. Eventually he may require a bone marrow transplant.

A catheter in his chest allows nurses to draw blood twice a week. The steroids that support his liver function make him chubby. Cody is very sick but plays video games and when asked shows off his "boo-boo," the tubes running out of his body.

After the diagnosis last October, Cody spent a month in the hospital in St. Louis. One of his parents was always with him. The one who stayed home to work drove to St. Louis every night. The Phillipses bought a new truck to make sure they could rely on their transportation.

When Cody finally came home, Angela took a leave of absence from her job to care for him. Daniel took a higher paying job, but the overdue mortgage payment notices piled up.

Besides the donations already mentioned, the Morley Community Betterment Committee has paid the family's utility bills this month, and some people have helped the old-fashioned way by bringing by food. We suspect some of them just wanted a good look at that beautiful little boy.

Some day, we trust, Cody will grow up to realize he lives in a community that takes care of those who need help.

The online auction at www.semissourian.com will end Wednesday. The Area Wide United Way is handling donations that come in outside the auction. Cheryl Ellis, editor/coordinator of the Southeast Missourian Jr., says the money donated to help Cody and his parents through the United Way and raised through the auction will go toward future mortgage payments.

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