Ice Bucket Challenge Sends Larkfield 5-Year-Old’s Laugh Around World
By Elizabeth M. Cosin, The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
As word spread to the friends and relatives of
Nobody's quite sure who started it, but it may have been
It's a simple idea: Take a video of yourself getting a bucket of ice water poured over your head and then call out someone else to do it. It's been getting a lot of play lately, making its way through the world of professional golfers and other celebrities. Earlier this week, NBC Today Show co-host
Many have used the challenge to raise money for charities or causes, calling out someone else to pour ice water over their head and donate a small sum of money, or pay a larger amount and skip the ice water. In Kapri's case, those taking the challenge are asked to pay
When Graves did the challenge, one of the people he called out was
The bubbly 5-year-old already had been through surgery at UC San Francisco's
"She's a happy kid and, honestly, she's been taking this whole thing really well,"
But when Kahn decided to take the challenge in the bathroom of the Geernaerts' apartment near St. Jude's, Kapri was there to see it and even got to call out a challenge.
But the best part, her mother said, was when Kapri started laughing at the just-soaked Kahn.
"You can hear it on the video," Geernaert said. "This squeaky, squeally laugh. People just responded to it."
They responded in a major way.
Geernaert has lost track of how many videos she's seen but estimates there are more than 500. People have taken the challenge as far away as
Kahn posted the video to Facebook, offering the challenge to five people.
The Geernaerts, who have two other girls, learned of Kapri's cancer in early June, when their otherwise healthy girl was showing signs of unusual fatigue. Then on
"I've seen a lot in my job," said Geernaert's brother
The diagnosis was medulloblastoma, an aggressive, fast-spreading cancer near the brain stem. Treatment often includes surgery to remove the tumor and months, sometimes years, of chemotherapy. Doctors have told the Geernaerts that Kapri, who is nearing the end of her first course of treatment, faces at least another seven months of chemo. While they have health insurance, the family said they don't know how much will be covered. The helicopter bill from
Geernaert said while the family was grateful for the care they received at
A friend started a fundraising page on Gofundme.com with a goal of
The night
"I got up the next morning and looked at my email and I could not believe how many emails I received. And half of them had videos on them," she said. "It was crazy. They haven't stopped since."
Friends have called out friends who have called out other friends, colleagues, teachers, football coaches, firemen and even an entire wedding party vacationing in
The challenge has sparked a chain reaction that has reached people who have never met Kapri. Last week,
It's been a popular conversation in
"I was challenged by a friend and thought this was a great cause," said Kotalik, a local businessman who has never met Kapri but heard about her plight from
The family, including father Shawn, who owns a custom cabinet company, and sisters, Kenadie, 11, and Kailey, 9, are grateful for the support . While Kapri has a long road ahead of her, she can at least spend her evenings watching the best kind of TV.
"We are just overwhelmed by it all. Never in a million years did I expect this to go viral like it has. I'm shocked. And thankful," said
And, says Jenkins, that's the best medicine.
"Part of doing them is for how they make her feel," he said. "To get a little girl in that situation to smile is pretty special."
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