A fundraiser for a Murrayville family was stopped short after the tragic events that occurred at the Jacksonville Speedway last Friday.
Ryan and Taylor Lowery are currently at the hospital taking care of their 2-year old son Reese who has been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia and is in recovery from a recent stroke.
Murrayville Fire Chief, local race car driver, and long-time family friend Cody Kitselman says that last Friday night, the local racers were going to pass the helmet to help the Lowery Family, but things got cut short due to the tragic events at the track.
Despite what happened last Friday, LifeStar Ambulance donated $350 while both Kitselman Racing and Evan Turner Racing provided $100 each to the brief pass the helmet-style fundraiser. Kitselman says they were able to receive some other small donations in the pits prior to the race’s unfortunate ending.
Kitselman says that local realtor Dominic Casey is currently supporting a gun raffle. Tickets for the raffle are for $20. All proceeds are benefiting the Lowery Family. For more information on the gun raffle call 217-491-2703.
Kitselman says that the family also has an active GoFundMe still available for those wishing just to give free will donations to help offset medical bills, personal bills, and other expenses while both Ryan and Taylor are off work. So far, the GoFundMe has raised over $36,000.
Kitselman says the Lowerys are active members in the Murrayville community and Taylor is a well-known member of the staff at the Murrayville-Woodson Elementary School.
The Lowerys received good news last Monday after Reese was able to leave intensive care at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis after his recent stroke. Kitselman asks that the community continue to pray for and support his long-time friends. In an update yesterday, Taylor Lowery says that Reese continues to respond well to chemotherapy and they are awaiting news to help treat any residual issues left over from the stroke he had a few weeks ago.
Kitselman says there may be a benefit coming for the family in the near future, but final details and locations have not been put together yet. For now if you would like to help the family, the link to the GoFundMe is here.