About

In 2005, my 5-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a VERY aggressive spinal tumor that was causing immense amounts of pain and caused her leg to atrophy to virtually skin and bone. It took nearly 4 months to determine the cause of Allison’s pain and on June 9th, 2005 she was admitted to Arnold Palmer Hospital (APH) for Children where she underwent several surgeries to attempt to remove the very destructive tumor. Our world was turned upside down when we were told that although the tumor was benign, it was inoperable and would require frequent surgeries to keep Allison comfortable. Needless to say, we were devastated! With the help of the Arnold Palmer Hospital staff, we found a physician capable of removing the tumor. Dr. John P. Dormans at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (aka CHOP) was an expert in this field and graciously volunteered to see us and to determine if he could help. We were blessed when we found out that Dr. Dormans could help Allison! Allison underwent 2 more surgeries under Dr. Dormans’ care and he was able to successfully remove the tumor, which had destroyed 3 vertebrae. In order to stabilize Allison’s back, he needed to insert 5 titanium screws, 2 titanium rods, a vetebral insert (spacer), cadaverous femur strips, along with a bone forming “gel.” Today, Allison is a strong 11-year-old girl in the fifth grade and plays tennis, golf, and is learning to cook at the Young Chef’s Academy in Hunter’s Creek. She is doing AWESOME and at her latest annual check-up this past November, Dr. Dormans indicated (and I quote…) “I think it is safe to say that Allison is HOME FREE!!” Truly a miracle!

As soon as we found out that Allison would be fine, we decided that we needed to “give back” to those families who were in similar situations. We have been working on this golf tournament ever since.