Melville Coworkers Fight for Cammi

When Anita and Steven Shaw adopted little Cammi eight years ago, they never imagined she would be spending much of her childhood in hospitals and doctor offices.

Cammi, a bubbly girl with a love for Webkins and gymnastics, has been suffering with cystic fibrosis, a disease that attacks the lungs and digestive system, for the past five years.

Early this year, the Shaw family was informed that Cammi would need three surgeries, including the insertion of a feeding tube, as her weight has dropped dangerously low, making her more prone to infection. The 8-year-old also endures seven nebulizer treatments a day, takes supplements and enzymes and must go through physical therapy each morning and evening. Due to the toll the disease takes on Cammi’s lungs, doctors also want the Shaws to install a home air purification system, but the overwhelming cost coupled with current medical bills, is out of the family’s reach.

While only half of those who have cystic fibrosis make it through their teens, experts suggest that a cure is only a few years away. The Shaws are hoping to keep Cammie alive long enough to benefit from it.

Seeing their colleagues fight for their daughter’s life, Janice Costa and staff at Cygnus Publishing in Melville where Anita and Steven are editors for different magazines, decided to come together and help their coworkers.

“That’s when a bunch of us in Melville realized we needed to do something,” Costa wrote in an email. “None of us are rich (we all work in publishing!), but we figured we could still make a difference if we all worked together. So we decided to plan a benefit – a Bowl-a-Thon that the kids would enjoy, with a Chinese Auction to raise money for the little girl’s medical fund. We pooled our resources and hit up everyone we knew for prize donations.” 

The Bowl-a-Thon fundraising event for Cammi Cares Medical Fund is taking place March 25 from 1-5 p.m. at the East Islip Bowling Alley. 

Some prizes include Yankees, Mets and Rangers tickets, a KitchenAid mixer and a Nikon camera basket, tickets to the Wendy Williams show and a dress rehearsal to Saturday Night Live. Door prizes will be given out every 15 minutes and activities for kids will be taking place the whole day. Children’s activities include a ballon artist, glitter hair stands, temporary tattoos. Everyone gets to participate in lunch and bowling.

The editor of Firehouse Magazine, whose 9/11 book, "WTC: In Their Own Words," was published late last year, will also be conducting a book signing at the event.

“In a bad economy, it seems like mostly all you read is bad news, but for me, this has been a chance to be part of something amazing – people and company coming together to make a difference in the life of a family, and one remarkable little girl who has proven to be an inspiration to everyone who knows her,” Costa said.

For more information or to make a donation to the Cammi Care Medical Fund, contact Janice Costa at 631-963-6233 or visit https://www.facebook.com/CammiCareMedicalFund.