On Wednesday, October 26, the Wareham Police Association is holding a blood drive from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Wareham Police Station. The event is in honor of two-year-old “Warrior Princess” Rylie Grace Dion.
In June, Rylie was admitted to Boston’s Children’s Hospital due to swollen lymph nodes. The following month, she had several masses removed that were sent for testing, though one was too risky to remove due to nerve entanglement.
Rylie’s mother, Kristi Weigel, works as a nurse, and is the daughter of Rochester Fire Chief Scott Weigel. The family is selling T-shirts to help raise money for Rylie’s treatments, which can be found at bonfire.com/rally-for-rylie/.
“Rylie loves the color pink,” Kristi told The Wanderer in a written interview. “(Her) favorite things to do are play dolls and dress up as princesses!”
The youngest of three children, Rylie has been diagnosed with Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM), as well as Chronic Cervicofacial Lymphadenitis. It’s a rare disease and will require a year or more of treatments.
The Wareham Police Association got involved since Wareham Police Officer Calib LaRue is a friend of the family, and his wife is a nurse at Wareham Pediatrics, where Rylie is also a patient.
“(She) has given us so much support.” Kristi said gratefully. “We have had so much support from our community. (The) Friends of Jack Foundation has done so much for Rylie.”
Officer LaRue reached out a few months before and asked if Kristi would be okay with honoring Rylie for the association’s annual blood drive. Kristi was more than happy to approve and support two great causes at the same time.
“My hope for the fundraiser is to get blood donations for these kids who have no choice but to battle these illnesses like Rylie,” she stated. “Donating blood might seem like such a simple thing to do, but it truly is a priceless gift for so many kids. The blood and platelets help these sick kids make new cells to help them fight. Blood donors are true heroes.”
Those who might be squeamish around a blood-donation site can still spread the word, as well as supporting the family through their Bonfire link or Rylie’s GoFundMe page that can be found by searching “Rylie Grace,” “Katelyn Weigel” or “Kristi Weigel” on the website.
“Her mom and dad have not left their side and are grateful for the support they have received from family and friends with Braydon and Chase!” the description reads. “Rylie has amazing strength and will get through this unknown time!”
The Wareham Police Station is located at 2515 Cranberry Highway. To make an appointment, donors can visit bostonchildrens.org/halfpints and use sponsor code WRHMPD. For more information, contact Officer LaRue at calib_larue@warehampolice.com. A post about the blood drive can also be found at wareham.ma.us.
By Jack MC Staier