Lea Hill community reaches out to help family of 3-year-old cancer victim

Published 4:59 pm Thursday, May 5, 2016

For the Reporter

Community leaders in the Lea Hill area are calling for volunteers to help the family of a 3-year-old boy whose brain-stem cancer has become progressively invasive.

The projects are aimed at giving Justin Lazara’s family more quality time to spend with their son in the final months of his life.

“Our worst fears have come to fruition,” Justin’s mother, April, noted in an online post to her friends and family. “Our son is losing his battle to this beast called cancer.”

Justin has been given roughly three to six months to live, the family says.

“I look at our beautiful son and am reminded that he has never given up, never complained of pain, so who am I to do so?” April said. “I tell people all the time that I learn from my 3-year-old on a daily basis, and those words are never truer today. He just wanted to be home with us, play with toys, and eat yummy food.”

“As I try to find a suitable way to tell you all thank you from the bottom of my heart, I hear Justin’s voice saying, ‘Mom, cheer up!’ and know that even though he’s only 3, he has the strength and wisdom of a far older warrior … a kind, loving, silly warrior who I will never be ready to let go of.”

New efforts

The community organizers’ new support efforts range in scope from helping the Lazaras with household chores to completing outdoor projects designed to create a safer and healthier environment for Justin and his sister, Corinne.

Previous events to support Justin’s family have included a bake sale that raised more than $3,500, a backyard-improvement project, a crafts boutique and a Sparrow Club established at Arthur Jacobsen Elementary, sponsored by Scarff Subaru. Sparrow Clubs USA is a nonprofit organization that sets the stage for simple, yet heroic acts of kindness in schools and youth culture, through the concept of empowering kids to help other kids in medical need.

Now, community leaders realize that Adam and April Lazara need even more help in coping with the financial and personal burdens related to his medical care.

Lea Hill residents have pinpointed three outdoor projects intended to enhance the safety of the areas in which Justin and sister Corinne play.

“We need labor help to remove dirt from the crawl space under the Lazara house, then install a drain to eliminate standing water,” said project leaders Michael and Eydie Leighty.

In addition, the volunteer group is looking for extermination services to eradicate mice in the crawl space. Organizers have announced that they already have a volunteer to complete the third outside project, leveling a 14-foot-square area, then spreading pea gravel and installing a play structure.

The organizers want to thank Roy Swain and his team at Earth Tech Industries LLC, who volunteered to complete the backyard project. Tacoma-based Earth Tech Industries is the landscape company that maintains the common grounds for Michael Leighty’s MyHOA-online communities on Lea Hill.

Eydie Leighty is also the project leader looking for volunteers to off-load household chores such as laundry and general cleaning from the Lazaras. This will allow Adam and April to spend more quality time with their family.

A “Meal Train” project to provide meal support for the Lazaras with three prepared meals a week is also in the works. Meal Train is an organization whose online tools simplify creating and delivering meals to those in need.

Volunteers who want to help but not cook should contact Gayle Von Holt to donate ingredients. She is heading up meal support and will be preparing frozen meals to help the family on non-Meal Train days. Lea Hill volunteers plan to meet on May 14 to make frozen pre-prepared meals. Those interested in helping with assembly or donating ingredients should contact Gayle at gaylescents@gmail.com.

Project leaders Korina Weigand and Tracy Case Arnold are working with local schools to create awareness of volunteer opportunities.

In addition, the organizers are looking for a volunteer with a high level of social media skills to help spread the word about the projects to assist the Lazaras. Those interested in volunteering should contact Eydie Leighty at eydie@leightynet.org.

Monetary donations to help Justin’s family can be made at the “Justin Lowell Lazara Donation Account” at the Chase bank branch at 13207 SE 272nd St. on Kent-Kangley Road and 132nd Kent. Donations can also be made to the “Help Justin Kick Cancer’s Butt!” account on Gofundme.com.