Billings, Montana – This year, two Billings families in need will receive the whole proceeds from the 31st Helping Hand Poker Run, which took place on Sunday.
The poker run included five stops total, starting at the Caboose Saloon in Laurel and concluding with a silent auction at Manny’s in Billings.
The Williams family, whose 10-year-old daughter Anna has cancer, and the Bell family, whose 5-year-old daughter Maylin has a rare brain tumor, were this year’s recipients.
Amee Williams, Anna’s mother, still remembers how frightened they were to learn Anna’s diagnosis.
Williams claimed on Sunday at the Caboose Saloon, “It was terrifying. As a parent, you may say, “It was something you could never imagine.”
Williams added that while the news shocked everyone in her family, she is proud of how her daughter handled the difficulty.
“Anna’s doing so well,” Williams gushed. She is quite powerful and a fighter. She’s pretty remarkable.
The Bells find it to be yet another horrific tale, making them grateful for every extra day they get to spend with their daughter.
“They gave us our diagnosis and said she had four to six months,” Maylin’s mother Meagan Lucara-Bell said. “Now that it has been 10 months, she is still here. Despite the stressful last 10 months, she is a warrior.
Maylin and her family received that dreadful news in August of last year. It’s a day that, according to her mother, is still challenging to discuss.
I was unable to discuss it for four months, Lucara-Bell admitted. No parent, no child, and no family should be given a prognosis of months. It’s hard to process.
But Maylin persisted in her battle for several more months. It’s been close to a year since the doctor gave her the diagnosis, so her family splits their time between Salt Lake City and her place of care so she can get the right care.
It’s thanks, according to Lucara-Bell, in large part to the financial assistance from activities like the Helping Hand Poker Run.
“It’s amazing,” Lucara-Bell exclaimed. “Until something this bad occurs to your family, you don’t know the community you have. The charity made contact and expressed its desire to assist. You are rendered speechless.
Both the Bells and the Williams were present at Manny’s for the silent auction. Williams claimed it was challenging to remain emotion-free all day.
Williams remarked, “We are extremely appreciative. “I was going to wear mascara today that didn’t smear, but I’m just so grateful.” Without the help of our neighborhood, we could not have accomplished it.
Other stops along the way included the Lost Village Roadhouse and Saloon in Roberts, the Blue Ribbon Bar in Red Lodge, the Bear Creek Saloon & Steakhouse in Bear Creek, and the Silver Tip Restaurant and Casino in Belfry.
Both families expressed their gratitude and stated they are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support.
For us, Anna, we’re just going to keep up the good fight. stated Williams. “Our community just makes us feel incredibly loved and supported,”
And Lucara-Bell claimed that kindness has changed her family’s lives.
Simply knowing that there are strangers in our community eager to assist a family is so difficult to describe, according to Lucara-Bell. They are assisting in providing our young children with the greatest possible life.
