Innovative Financial Solutions presents gift to Cape family

MacKenzie Huffman and her family were gifted nine months of mortgage payments Wednesday, July 12, from Innovative Financial Solutions in partnership with the Gradient Gives Back Foundation.

Loren Huffman, MacKenzie Huffman's son, was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma Nov. 1. Both Huffmans have been at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, since Dec. 7 for Loren to receive chemotherapy treatments.

"He had several biopsies, which concluded he had a Ewing's sarcoma, which is an aggressive cancer in the bone, and he was transferred to St. Jude and started chemo immediately and had some nodes removed from his lungs," MacKenzie Huffman said.

According to www.OrthoInfo.org, "Ewing's sarcoma is a cancerous (malignant) tumor that usually begins growing in a bone. It occurs primarily in children and young adults, often appearing during the teen years."

Innovative Financial Solutions owner Brock Alspaugh said he and the company are "big believers" in giving back to the community.

"This just was an opportunity to take that to another level and do something real special for somebody," Alspaugh said.

Huffman said with the treatments and having to go back-and-forth from Memphis, it can feel "isolating" from the community.

"(The gift) just really reminds me what a great community this is, and I'm very honored. I was honored to even be considered, and I'm just very humbled and grateful for this gift," Huffman said.

She said the mortgage payments can let her reevaluate and get caught up with other payments.

"I'm behind in my school loans and utilities. And I have some outstanding doctor bills. This is gonna allow me to kind of reassess and get caught up on everything and bring me to a good position to take care of Loren," she said.