Fundraiser to help family with medical bills

Martial arts students will be breaking boards to help raise money for Toby May, a former student who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2005.

The event will be at Shadle Park High School gym, 4327 N. Ash St., on Oct. 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 300 Jung Kim Martial Arts students are collecting pledges for how many boards they can break.

May, a wife and mother of two boys, went home from work one day last year with a headache. Two days later, she went to the emergency room, vomiting and unable to open her eyes because of the pain in her head.

Within the week, 80 percent of a large tumor was removed. Since then, May has had radiation to her brain and three types of chemotherapy.

“She is not doing well (medically or financially), and the family (also martial arts students) is struggling,” said Jeff Howard, assistant instructor at Jung Kim’s.

May is undergoing an experimental treatment, which has shown a 50 percent effectiveness rate in a clinical trial at Duke University, but because they are experimental, the drugs are not covered by most insurance companies.

May’s treatment at Rockwood Oncology costs about $170,000 annually, with some expenses paid by Rockwood and the Mays’ insurance. The family is paying $2,800 every other week, or $72,800 a year.

Jung Kim’s is at 9105 N. Division St. and 2925 E. 29th Ave.

All money raised from the event will go to the May family. For more information or a pledge form, go to www.tobysfund.com.