OAKHURST — The nonprofit group Helping One Woman (HOW) will meet to dine and honor Kayla Geest on Wednesday, Mar. 21 at the Elks Lodge. The evening of fundraising and friendship begins at 6 p.m.
HOW meets monthly for an uplifting evening in honor of one deserving woman who receives the community’s support when they need it the most.
Please RSVP to Tokens at (559) 658-5428 with the number in your party, or if you have any contributions or questions. The Elks Lodge is located at 42484 CA-41, Oakhurst, CA 93644. Dinner is spaghetti with meat sauce or marinara, salad and bread. The cost is $12 per person.
There’s also an online auction for Kayla on the HOW Facebook page. The auction is online only, so when you bid, make sure you’re bidding in the correct post.
Kayla Guest is a hard-working new mom to baby Ryann, who was born on Dec. 8 last year. Just shy of two-months-old, Ryann was diagnosed with hearing loss due to Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD).
“Being the amazing mom she it, Kayla has stopped at nothing to be on top of every doctor’s appointment and schedule every test available to get baby Ryann where she needs to be,” say organizers. She has also taken the time to learn sign language.
“Doctor visits and testing has shown that baby Ryann is a possible candidate for a cochlear implant (CI). She has many upcoming appointments at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford through their CI program, one of only three in California.”
Ryann had a doctor’s appointment on Mar. 7 and her mama says the appointment went well for the little one, who loves to smile and giggle.
“They basically confirmed her diagnosis and went ahead and did the molds for her hearing aids,” Kayla explains. “She has to do a trial for five-to-six months in which will be traveling to Stanford every six-to-eight weeks for new molds and hearing tests to see if the hearing aids are working.”
Kayla says her daughter will be receiving her custom hearing aids on Mar. 27.
In the meantime, Ryann is a bright and observant baby who recognizes the sign for milk, Kayla notes, and is very smart for her age.
“On her evaluations she is cognitively ahead as far as being alert and in terms of her attention span.” She already has a favorite toy, mom adds: a purple hippo.
“If everything goes perfectly, Ryann should be able to hear as early as eight-months-old.” says HOW. “Cochlear implants are costly and will run into the thousands of dollars. Kayla will receive all monies gifted at the door and through prize drawing ticket purchases. This will go toward Ryann’s doctor bills and also help Kayla stay afloat during this tumultuous time.”
Recipients of HOW are always a woman who is going through a time of irreplaceable loss or who has been through a period of loss within the last 12 months. Irreplaceable loss is defined as a catastrophic loss which cannot be recovered.
Those participating in the HOW benefit will offer $10 or more as a suggested donation for Kayla and pay for their own dinner. Proceeds from the event go directly to Kayla at the end of the evening.
HOW says that “one woman with $10 can buy another woman lunch. Ten women giving $10 can buy another woman’s groceries. One hundred women giving $10 can really make a difference in another woman’s life.”
Do you know a woman who is going through a time of irreplaceable loss? Bring her name to the next HOW meeting and nominate her to be the next recipient. Recipients are chosen in a public drawing.
“Remember that by helping one woman, we help one family and one community.”
Contact howoakhurstchapter@gmail.com
