CADILLAC — Customers at Mitchell Street Bigby in Cadillac were given the opportunity to round up their total to help a local family who has been battling complications with their youngest child since his birth 11 months ago.
On Aug. 5, 6 and 8, customers were offered the option to round up to raise money for the Benson family, whose youngest child, Rain, has been in and out of a Grand Rapids hospital since birth.
Rain’s mother, Emily Benson, says the family “didn’t know anything was wrong with our new addition” until the day after Rain was born. That’s when they found out Rain had Tetralogy of Fallot, a heart defect that causes four abnormalities in the structure of the heart, preventing oxygen-poor blood from reaching the heart and getting oxygen.
After a heart defect was discovered, Lane was flown by helicopter to Helen DeVos Hospital in Grand Rapids. Benson said she was released from the hospital in December 2023, but she soon began making frequent trips to the hospital due to subsequent infections and illnesses.
Doctors have now discovered that Rain’s airway is blocked by a natural substance in it. This development in Rain’s progress means around-the-clock monitoring and ventilator support.
Benson said she quit her job because Rain requires round-the-clock care and now spends weekdays in hospital with her husband visiting her on weekends.
“We will have personal care, but they can only do so many days, so the plan is I will stay home with him while he is on the ventilator,” Benson said.
Benson said one of the biggest struggles in dealing with their situation is their insurance refusing to pay for medical equipment Layne needs.
“We’re trying to appeal that process, but in the meantime, we’re buying it because he needs to have these things,” Benson said. “We have three other kids at home, so life here doesn’t stop.”
Benson said she never expected her family to receive support from the community, especially in this way. “It was just one of those challenges that was presented to us, and we were just going to get by,” Benson said.
Another Cadillac resident, Ann Hinckley, had the Benson family in mind as she prepared for the second annual “Spooky Sophie’s Halloween Bash,” an event celebrating the life of Hinckley’s daughter, who died in 2023 from cancer.
Hinckley said after losing her daughter, the community came together to raise funds for her family and wanted to offer the same support to other families in this tough situation.
Hinckley said she didn’t know the Benson family personally but had shared their story on Facebook, which resonated with her. While looking for donations for the Halloween bash’s raffle and auction, she was contacted by Mary Ann of Cadillac Bigby.
Mr Hinckley said Mary-Ann “instigated” the collecting effort as well as donating to auctions and raffles.
Benson said she has been overwhelmed by the community support and that it’s great to see a small town come together.
“The people who shared (our story) and reached out to me and the small town support has been amazing,” Benson said. “In community, you make these connections and you don’t feel so alone, which is the most beautiful thing I can say about all of this.”
