L’ava Fundraiser for Trucker Dukes, Dec. 19

Trucker Dukes, Dec. 14, 2015. Photo by Wendy Osher.

A fundraiser for two-year-old Trucker Dukes is planned for this Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015 at L’AVA Sportsbar, located on Lower Main Street in Wailuku.

Trucker Dukes is the youngest of four siblings and was diagnosed one year ago with Stage 4 aggressive Neuroblastoma cancer. He and his family have been fighting to save his life ever since.

Trucker has three older siblings, Indi (10), Mac (8), and Jedi (6).

The young boy returned to Maui for a brief break before resuming treatments on the East Coast on Dec. 22, 2015.  While on island, Trucker has been enjoying time with his family and was honored earlier this week as an honorary firefighter with the Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety, where his dad Joshua is employed.

About a month ago, he underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor, and is starting a trial program which delivers medication directly to the relapse site.

Shauna, Trucker’s mom, has stated, “the brutal reality is that he still has a lot of cancer and we still are fighting very hard for his life… his cancer is stubborn, there is a very high relapse rate with nueroblastoma and that’s even with kids with no evidence of disease.”

Fundraising Coordinator Alyson Hodges said the money that L’AVA Sportsbar makes, such as cover from the door, cash donations and merchandise sales donated from different distributors, will all go to Trucker and his family. There will also be items for auction and L’AVA will be donating all food sales to Trucker, according to Hodges.

Organizers say the funds raised will help the family with expenses, which includes travel between New York and Maui, living costs in NYC and medical costs.