A local retailer’s employees are banding together to help a sick co-worker. They are hoping the community will join their efforts.
Ryan Lechtenberg is expected to return to work this week at a local big-box hardware store after recovering from surgery earlier this month to have his left arm amputated.
Lechtenberg has been battling a very rare form of cancer, called Leiomyosarcoma, for more than 3 years.
After undergoing at least five surgeries, continuous chemotherapy and radiation therapy, Lechtenberg finally had to have his arm amputated in hopes of preventing the cancer from spreading, said Dan Lupton, co-worker and one of the benefit organizers.
“Through past surgeries, they were able to save his arm, but the tumor kept growing,” Lupton said.
Lechtenberg has about six inches left of his arm, Lupton said. He is expected to be able to continue work, but will need assistance.
Because Lechtenberg’s insurance does not cover all of his treatment, his co-workers are trying to raise funds to help him and his family. Lechtenberg is 37 years old and married with two young children.
“He’s so young to have to be dealing with this,” Lupton said. “He’s a very private person, but so helpful to everyone else.”
Lechtenberg’s co-workers are holding a benefit for him at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Chapin’s Restaurant, 701 N. Liberty St., Morris. A donation of $20 a person is being asked in exchange for appetizers and a fun evening filled with live music, raffles and silent auction items.
“We’re so thankful for Scott and Dianne (Breslar, Chapin’s owners) for their generosity,” Lupton said. “We wouldn’t be able to throw this benefit without them.”
Leiomyosarcoma is a form of a rare and aggressive cancer called sarcoma. A sarcoma is a cancer of the connective or supportive tissues of the body, such as bone, cartilage, fat, muscle and blood vessels, according to lmsdr.org.
The cause of Leiomyosarcoma is unknown, but studies have indicated there are genetic and environmental risk factors associated with the cancer.
“Most oncologists only see one or two cases of this in their careers,” Lechtenberg co-worker Trish Vidito said.
Another co-worker working on the benefit is Lisa Buhle.
Vidito said Lechtenberg plans to get a prosthetic arm, but he is unsure how much of the cost his insurance will cover ,so funds raised could go toward that also.
“Cancer is so common now, but to have to have a limb removed . . . We know how overwhelming it is for him and want to help as much as we can,” Vidito said.
For more information on the benefit, call Dan Lupton at 
(815) 325-3070
.
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