Freshman at Sequim High School Destiny Staus transformed her English assignment into an effort to help a past Sequim graduate diagnosed with cancer.
Upon being assigned a project equating to 20 percent of her class grade, Staus said she knew she wanted to do something to “help someone from the community,” she said.
“It’s pretty cool,” Staus said in a shy, soft-spoken tone. “I’ve never done anything like this before, but this is really important to me.”
Not long after receiving her assignment, Staus heard about Sequim High School teachers Cheryl and Jon Eekhoff’s 20-year-old son Dylan Eekhoff and his recent diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Since Feb. 2, Dylan Eekhoff has been in and out of Swedish Medical Center in Seattle undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy.
“We, along with the doctors, hope four rounds will put him in the clear, but he could be in for as many as six rounds,” Cheryl Eekhoff said.
Destiny’s mother Donna Staus explained how having lost both her uncle and father within the past few years, their family is familiar with the challenges and emotional turmoil associated when someone close is diagnosed with cancer.
“This hits really close to home,” she said. “When Destiny came to me and told me she wanted to do something like this, I was left speechless.”
To help raise money to offset the expenses for Eekhoff’s treatment, ongoing travel between Sequim and Seattle, doctors’ appointments and other costs that may incur, Destiny Staus created a gofundme campaign, is spearheading a raffle and participating in an IHOP takeover where a percentage of the monies made at the restaurant will go toward her project.
Coinciding with Easter, Staus has built a variety of Easter baskets from community donations. Each basket is created around a theme, such as a car care basket, all-sweets basket and spa basket.
“We’ve gotten some really great donations,” Donna Staus said.
Driven by her desire to help, Destiny Staus has had to overcome one of her greatest challenges – public speaking. Stepping outside her comfort zone by interacting with her community and having to ask for donations and explain her research and project, Staus said, the “passion” she has for this project has helped her confidence when speaking.
“I don’t do a lot of talking, but I think it’s getting a little bit easier,” she said.
While she strengthens her public speaking abilities, Dylan Eekhoff’s father, Jon, has relied on his own use of words to document snippets of his journey with his son via his blog “South of the Strait.”
“When Cheryl and I entered into this journey we had a memorable discussion about how to handle this journey,” Jon Eekhoff wrote in a blog post. “This blog is part of that conversation.”
Eekhoff explores some of his thoughts and questions he continually grapples with while accompanying his son on his road to recovery.
“My son has a form of cancer that is treatable today,” Eekhoff writes. “Five years ago that was not true. Dylan’s treatments have been built on all the people who bravely fought against this disease and future treatments are going to be built on my son’s.”
In hopes of helping Dylan Eekhoff through his treatment and thus positively impacting the treatments of those that may also face non-Hodgkins lymphoma in the future, Staus has turned one English assignment into something far beyond a grade.
“This project means a lot,” she said. “If my teacher lets me do a project like this again next year, I’d like to do it because there’s always someone in the community that needs help.”
Raffle tickets are available for $1 today, Wednesday, March 25, until the drawing on Saturday, April 4. From 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday, March 30, and Wednesday, April 1, at Walmart, 1284 W. Washington St., Destiny Staus will have a ticket booth with the baskets on display. Additionally, the IHOP takeover is from 5-8 p.m., Friday, April 3, at 1360 W. Washington St.
Read Jon Eekhoff’s blog at joneekhoff.com.
Dylan Eekhoff gofundme campaign
Where: www.gofundme.com/objldw
Cost: By donation
More info or to buy raffle tickets: Call Donna Staus at 670-5688.
