Sammamish girl’s art gives back to Children’s Hospital
July 9, 2008
By Emily Keller
Nine-year-old Nicki Wehrs likes to paint rabbits and rainbows, play soccer and go swimming, like many children her age. But Nicki, who lives in Sahelee, has to endure more than most children to stay healthy enough to do those things.
Since she was diagnosed with a chronic bleeding disorder in 2002 called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, Nicki has become a patient at the Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, where she travels for intravenous therapy treatments every 6-8 weeks.
Although her family is well insured, Nicki and her father, Ray Wehrs, are working to raise money for uninsured children who also need the hospital’s services.
Last month they participated in Children’s Ride, an annual motorcycle event that raised more than $600,000 for the hospital’s uncompensated care fund.
“I felt like I just wanted to help the other kids who couldn’t afford their care,” Nicki said about the hospital fundraising event. “They’ve really helped me. They are always just there to support me.”
Wehrs, who is a member of the Imagine Guild that organizes the ride, rode his white 1997 Harley Davison Heritage Softtail Springer in the four-day event that included a 35-mile motorcycle ride June 29 with more than 1,500 people and a classic rock concert called Rock N’ Ride at the White River Ampitheatre with Kenny Wayne Shepard and Starship.
Motorcyclists paid $70 each for the ride from Qwest Field to the ampitheatre, $150 for an auction, dinner and gala the night before, or $500 for the whole weekend.
Nicki, who wants to be an artist when she grows up, participated by painting a dresser with a frog, squirrel, rabbit and rainbow for sale at the June 27 auction at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency Hotel.
“I liked painting the raccoon. I painted that all by myself and it was just amazing,” Nicki said about her work on the dresser, which sold for $1,250.
Nicki picked the designs with local artist Shariana Mundi by looking through books and magazines. Fourteen other items were also sold at the auction.
“At first, it was really, really scary seeing all those people staring at me, and after it, I just got used to it, and it seemed fun to me,” Nicki said about the auction, where she stood in front of the crowd to show off her work.
A portion of the money raised at Children’s Ride will also be used for pediatric diabetes research, said Wendy Funicello, who has worked for the hospital’s foundation and guild association for more than 20 years and is also a member of the Imagine Guild.
“A lot of the time parents find themselves in a position where they don’t have the full cost of the care,” Funicello said. “We provide health care to all children regardless of their family’s ability to pay. No child is ever turned away who needs medical care.”
There were 232,569 patient visits to the hospital in its last fiscal year, Funicello said. The most common reason was asthma.
When Nicki visits the hospital, the nurses distract her from her treatments with a fortune telling game called Game 22, where one player asks yes-or-no questions to the other and then guesses what object they have in their mind. The nurses also blow bubbles and play ball games with her.
“They treat her really, really well there. There’s no question,” said Wehrs. “What the hospital does for Nicki is amazing. It allows her to, for the most part, be a normal kid.”
Nicki said the treatments for her condition, which has no known cause or cure, enable her to play sports like swimming, bowling, tennis and soccer.
The treatments also enable Nicki to do things that involve moving higher off the ground, which is difficult because she bruises and bleeds easily if she falls.
“They really help me get on with my life and help me do things I wouldn’t be able to,” Nicki said about the hospital staff.
The Imagine Guild, which was formed in 1995, is one of 500 guilds that has raised more than $12 million for the hospital, said Funicello.
Wehrs said he is thrilled to be part of that cause.
“We are very, very fortunate and the hospital has always treated us so well,” he said. “We’ve been very blessed in a lot of ways but there are a lot of people out there who aren’t as fortunate as us.”
For information about fundraising for the hospital or to make a donation call the hospital’s Guild Association at 206-987-2153.
Reporter Emily Keller can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or ekeller@isspress.com.
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Hi, it’s Nicki here :] I can’t believe how quickly things have spun around for me. I just recently completed a new drug trial called Eltrombopag, and it works extremely well for me. I remember when you called how nervous I was, I didn’t have butterflies, I had a freaking stampede!! I’m 12 now, 13 in December, and attending Inglewood Jr. High. Honestly, I don’t really know why I’m writing all of this, because what are the chances you’ll read it, or even remember speaking to me? Slim, but oh well, I’m doing it anyways. I can remember standing on the stage with Spike and making funny faces to beat my nervousness by making the crowd laugh. I remember filming the commercial for the ride, and Pete Funicello calling me Hollywood. I remember painting the dresser with Shariana. I remember it all, and cherish it completely. Thank you to all who’ve helped the Guild, I really appreciate it, and so does the hospital. I’ve recently started giving Teddy bears to kids ages 7 and below in the Hem-Onc clinic. I’ve also started singing. I love it!
Remember the little things. They always turn out to be the big things. God bless, Nicki <3