Bonny Roberts guesses the weight of the pumpkin on display at the Cock & Bull restaurant on Main Street. Owners Rudy, at right, and Gabriella Horky are inviting residents to come in and guess the pumpkin’s weight until October 31, for a chance to win free coffee for one month. The cost to guess is a minimum donation of $1, with proceeds going to Natasha and Taylor Giroux to assist with Taylor’s medical expenses.
Erin Christie photo
A local business owner is hoping to bring the community together for a fundraiser that will support the family of a young boy suffering from short bowel syndrome.
Rudy Horky, who operates the Cock & Bull restaurant on Main Street with his wife Gabriella, is inviting residents to come in and guess the weight of the pumpkin on his counter.
It costs $1 dollar to submit your estimate and the winner will receive free coffee from the establishment for one month.
If you aren’t really a coffee drinker Horky is hoping the chance to help a single mom pay for her ailing son’s hefty medical expenses is enough incentive to bring people into his shop this month.
Taylor Giroux was born three months premature and his doctors quickly discovered his bowels had punctured due to necrotizing enter colitis (NEC), a gastrointestinal disease that mostly affects premature infants. NEC involves infection and inflammation that causes destruction of the bowel or part of the bowel.
In severe cases such as Taylor’s the infection causes a hole to develop in the intestine, allowing bacteria to leak into the abdomen and cause life-threatening infection. The infection resulted in the removal of 90 per cent of Taylor’s bowels.
At three years old, the boy has already survived eight surgeries and been hospitalized for line sepsis, increased liver function, bowel obstruction and dehydration. He is currently fed via IV nutrition 18 hours a day.
According to Kidshealth.org the exact cause of NEC is unknown, but one theory is that the intestinal tissues of premature infants are weakened by too little oxygen or blood flow. So when feedings are started, the added stress of food moving through the intestine allows bacteria normally found in the intestine to invade and damage the wall of the intestinal tissues.
For the time being, Taylor requires 100 per cent of his mother’s care. As a single mother, this means she is unable to work full time and is subsequently struggling as her bills keep piling up.
Natasha and Taylor Giroux.
Lyonel Doherty photo
During an interview with the Chronicle in August, Giroux said she was taking it one day at a time and trying to make the best of it.
Horky said it’s Giroux’s positive attitude that made him want to reach out to help. Giroux is also the daughter of the Cock & Bull’s former owner, Andre Giroux.
Horky’s contest runs until the end of the month. The winner will be announced on October 31. So far he has raised $250 for Natasha and Taylor. He is hoping to reach $500.
Erin Christie
Oliver Chronicle
