Three area children experienced an extra-special evening last week, through a partnership involving the Coker Tire, the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer.
Eight-year-old Jaxon Beavers and his 6-year-old sister Jenna of Rocky Face, along with 13-year-old Dylan Duncan of Cleveland, were the stars of pre-game and between-inning ceremonies at the Lookouts’ Southern League baseball game against the Jacksonville Suns at AT&T Field.
The Lookouts won the game, 5-2 but on this night, there were other winners, according to representatives from the Austin Hatcher Foundation.
Jaxon Beavers is winning by enjoying his favorite things, such as baseball, pizza and the boy scouts. Jaxon was diagnosed in February of 2014 with a P-NET (primitive neuroectodermal tumor) brain tumor. He finished treatment in April of 2015 and is currently cancer-free. Jaxon and his sister represented the Austin Hatcher Foundation at the game and threw out ceremonial first pitches.
Duncan, a big baseball fan who also represented the foundation, is focused on winning as well, in a battle that began last month against osteosarcoma, a type of cancer that starts in the bones. In the bottom of the first inning last week, he got a VIP ride around the field with Corky Coker, the CEO of Coker Tire. The Austin Hatcher Foundation is the “chosen charity” of Coker Tire, an iconic Chattanooga company that is the world’s largest manufacturer of tires and wheel for collectable automobiles.
“This was another instance of the Chattanooga community coming together for a good cause,” said Austin Hatcher Foundation President Amy Jo Osborn. “We cannot say enough about the support of Coker Tires not only at this event but for many years. And of course, special thanks go to the Lookouts for ultimately facilitating this wonderful experience for these courageous children and their families.”
Jaxon Beaver, Duncan and their families receive services from the foundation’s psycho-oncology center in Chattanooga, Hatch’s House of Hope. The foundation’s Psycho-Oncology Division is focused on restoring and maximizing the emotional, academic and social development of the child, family members and family unit after a diagnosis of pediatric cancer.
Services are tailored to individual needs and are offered beginning at the diagnosis of cancer and provided throughout the child and families’ lifespans. Psycho-oncology services are performed by certified therapists and licensed psychologists at Hatch’s House of Hope with the help of collaborative efforts at pediatric oncology centers throughout the United States.
The Austin Hatcher Foundation’s services to young cancer patients and their families are provided at no cost; all services are paid for by donations received by the foundation.