Joseph Vang Benefit

2010 © brian adams

On Friday night, Brian and I attended a dinner benefit for Joseph Vang, a seven-year-old in Muldoon currently battling a brain tumor located at the base of his skull. Although he had an operation that removed most of the aggressive tumor last year, he is currently awaiting a Proton Therapy treatment to remove the rest of the growth, which, if left untreated could spread to his lungs.

At present, there are only two facilities in the country with the ability to perform the six-week-long therapy on children, and one, Houston's MD Anderson Cancer Center, has rejected the family's out-of-state insurance. The Vangs are now awaiting Massachusetts General's response to their request.

Even in the face of struggle, however, the benefit dinner was a celebration of cultural flavors, featuring multicultural dancing as well as foods that honored the Vang family's Hmong heritage, such as a whole roasted pig donated by Active Inspections. It was a beautiful display of cultures and community coming together in a difficult time, and Brian and I were happy to cover the event.

Read the article here on Tundra Telegraph.