EVERETT — One man drove in from Granite Falls and another from Sultan to buy tickets Friday before Beth Hansen drew the winning ticket for a handmade holiday quilt.
Two hours before the drawing, people donated more than $2,000 to a fund that now totals $16,241.
That money will help Hansen pay for medical and living expenses during the three months she will live near Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle after she has a bone marrow transplant in December.
Cora Lawson, an Everett-area woman, got her tickets Friday and won the donation drawing. Lawson is a registered bone marrow donor, said Kris Hansen, Beth Hansen’s mother.
"That was a very neat thing to hear," Kris Hansen said. "That bone- marrow registry is so important. That’s where Beth’s donor came from.
"Beth was so lucky. There were six matches for her. Some people go their whole lives without one match," she said.
Her daughter just completed training as a dental assistant but won’t be able to work in that field for some time, she said. Although Beth Hansen’s leukemia is in remission, it’s still in her body, and the only known cure is a transplant, she said.
Quilt artist Kathy McNeil said the ticket sales surprised her.
"It’s just been phenomenal," McNeil said.
Her husband, Bruce McNeil, spent two hours at QFC at Broadway and Everett Avenue selling tickets before the noon drawing for the "Gifts of Love" quilt, which depicts Santa Claus and a variety of holiday presents.
"Several people told me stories of their own survival of cancer or their sister-in-law or this person or that person’s survival," he said.
"It just warms your heart to hear all of these stories of people who go way out of their way to help someone they don’t even know.
"No matter who gets this quilt, it’s going to be a family heirloom and the grandchildren will receive the gift of this story, how people in the community gave money to help this woman," he said.
McNeil and Hansen’s mother are surgical service nurses at Providence Everett Medical Center’s Colby Campus. When McNeil learned about Beth Hansen’s leukemia and a transplant being her only hope, McNeil decided to donate her quilt to raise money for Hansen’s mounting bills.
Friends and family opened the Beth Hansen Transplant Fund. Donations can be made at any Cascade Bank.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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