Barbecue will help family cope

SPARTA — The friends and family of Brenna Lowry Hasselmann, an 11-year-old from Sparta, are uniting to raise money to help her battle her disease. She was diagnosed with an extremely rare vascular malformation of her lymphatic system called Diffuse Pulmonary Lymphangiomatosis. Once her doctors realized how rapidly progressive and how extensive her disease was, she began an experimental chemo drug therapy. Brenna has had multiple surgeries and hopes to go to Philadelphia to see if she is a candidate for a lung transplant. She will also travel to various places on the East Coast for treatment. She is the daughter of John and Brigid Lowry Hasselmann and is a student at St. Mary’s in Pompton Lake. Before getting sick, she played the clarinet, piano, basketball, softball, soccer, and enjoyed swimming. She has a 13-year-old brother and twin sisters, 9.

If you go
Date: June 18
Time: 1 to 6 p.m.
Place: Goodwill Hook and Ladder Firehouse
Off Forester Avenue in Warwick, NY
What: Barbecue
Details: Raffles, Tricky tray baskets, 50/50 raffle, and silent auction. Lots of family fun for the kids. Games and music, food, fun and spirits. $20 per adult and kids under 12 are free.
RSVP in advance, Theresa Lowry 845-987-2850 or Tammy Artusa 845-986-1177