Money doesn’t usually matter much to Cindi Hayes, but this time it’s a matter of life or death.
After 13 years battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia, doctors told her in August that a bone marrow transplant was her last chance.
Faced with the procedure and related costs estimated at $600,000, Hayes and her family began saving every penny, seeking donations and collecting items for their big fund raiser – an auction Saturday at the Tacoma Elks Club.
While the 49-year-old mother of two was planning the event and juggling chemotherapy treatments, someone broke into her storage unit and stole the prettily wrapped gift baskets and prizes slated for auction.
“When I first got the phone call, I just collapsed,” Hayes said. “I’ve been working so hard for this and this is my life. Then I stood up and pulled my boot straps on and moved forward.”
The auction will still be held Saturday with items Hayes hadn’t yet put into storage and any donations she can round up before then.
She and her family have returned their focus to finding more gifts for the auction, but they can’t help but think about the time they wasted gathering top-of-the-line prizes that were taken before they could help save Hayes’ life.
“To have somebody come in and steal that, it’s horrible,” said Janice Bauermeister, Hayes’ best friend. “It’s mind-boggling that somebody would actually do that.”
Daffodil Storage in South Tacoma last week donated a storage unit for Hayes to keep the auction items after she ran out of space in her mother’s basement.
She put a truckload of donations valued at $3,000 in the unit on Oct. 12. Bauermeister discovered the burglary Friday while dropping off more gift baskets.
The thieves left only a fake coffin filled with Halloween decorations, a witch prop and two baskets. Surveillance cameras in the storage facility captured footage of a man carrying several boxes away from the area of Hayes’ unit the same night she loaded the donations into her unit.
Jeff Oldright, Daffodil Storage’s operations manager, said the surveillance footage has been turned over to police. Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said a suspect has been identified but no arrest has yet been made.
“We feel just terrible for what happened to her,” Oldright said. “It’s disheartening all the way around.”
Daffodil Storage moved Hayes to another unit and contributed $1,000 to her cause.
She’s not sure yet how much money they’ve raised or how much the auction will help. She’s not even sure how much of the hospital bill will be covered by her medical insurance.
But Hayes knows the bills are piling up.
A bone marrow donor has been lined up and the transplant is scheduled for Dec. 9.
In addition to the bone marrow transplant, she has to temporarily move to Seattle because she must stay within 30 miles of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. That means maintaining two households.
Her boyfriend plans to quit his job to provide the round-the-clock care she will require after the transplant. Hayes’ sons held a car wash to raise funds. Her best friend put together a bingo event.
Aaron Christel, Hayes’ oldest son, said the entire situation has been devastating. He worries his 5-year-old son Trey might grow up without knowing his grandmother.
“This is a life threatening situation we’re going through right now. We don’t have a lot of money. It’s been hard getting all this thrown on us,” said the 28-year-old Tacoma man. “This is my mom, this is her survival, this is our life.”
Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8653
stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com
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