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Richland 4-H club builds small barn for sisters whose brother to return home after cancer treatment

Tri-City Herald
Catherine Sandy, 12, of Richland, a Chief Joseph Middle School student, left, and her sister Elizabeth, 15, who is enrolled in the online Graduation Alliance program, visit their brother Grant, 18, a Hanford High senior, who is undergoing cancer treatment in Spokane. The girls’ 4-H club raised money and is building a small barn so they can keep their guinea pigs, which won’t be allowed in their home with Grant’s compromised immune system.
Catherine Sandy, 12, of Richland, a Chief Joseph Middle School student, left, and her sister Elizabeth, 15, who is enrolled in the online Graduation Alliance program, visit their brother Grant, 18, a Hanford High senior, who is undergoing cancer treatment in Spokane. The girls’ 4-H club raised money and is building a small barn so they can keep their guinea pigs, which won’t be allowed in their home with Grant’s compromised immune system. Aggie Mowry Courtesy

Two Richland 4-H members didn’t want to be faced with welcoming home their older brother after he underwent four months of treatment for leukemia while saying good-bye to their rabbits and guinea pigs.

And now they don’t have to.

Members of Rada Rabbits & Cavies 4-H Club raised about $800 to build an 8-foot-by-10-foot barn behind the Sandy sisters’ Richland home to house 12 guinea pigs and 12 rabbits. Construction began two weeks ago and is expected to be complete Feb. 13, in time for Grant’s homecoming from Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital in Spokane later this month.

“Their animals are indoors, but to protect Grant’s weakened immune system when he comes home, the animals have to move outside. Cavies are climate sensitive and need to be in a shed that can be heated in the winter and cooled in the summer,” said Aggie Mowry, the girls’ 4-H leader.

Sisters Elizabeth, 15, and Catherine, 12, have been 4-H members for four years and were very successful competing in the youth contest for the American Rabbit Breeders Association at the national convention in November, Mowry said.

They were upset at the thought of having to give up their animals, said Lori Sandy, their mother.

“It’s always hard to take things from people, but it takes a village to raise kids,” Sandy said. “I’m very thankful and happy. I’m thankful my daughter is able to continue doing the cavie project.”

Lori Sandy is a single mother who recently resigned as a Pasco kindergarten teacher this past month so she could spend time with her son while he underwent his cancer treatments.

In October, Grant, a senior at Hanford High School, was diagnosed with an aggressive blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia. He has been at Sacred Heart since Oct. 25.

Grant’s prognosis is good and he’s “hoping to graduate with his class” in June as he’s been trying to keep up with his coursework via an online school, his mother said.

Sandy said she appreciates the 4-H club pitching in to help her daughters. “We’ve been really thankful and fortunate. This is a nice group of people,” Sandy said.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Richland 4-H club builds small barn for sisters whose brother to return home after cancer treatment."

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