Family Holds Bake Sale to Fund Removal of Tree Health Threat

Forty Fort, Luzerne County -- Tables filled with treats under tents took up the backyard of Sandra Bass of Forty Fort Wednesday morning. It's a fundraising bake sale for a family dealing with a mountain of medical bills. "It's been immensely upsetting," said Mrs. Bass. Her 24-year-old daughter, Samantha O'Gorman, spends most of her day in a wheelchair. She has undergone 144 surgeries to date for health issues essentially from head to toe. "The pain is horrendous because of all of the issues," said Ms. O'Gorman. The costly medical treatment she requires leaves the family on the financial brink. "It's edging up to between $75,000 to $100,000 in debt," said Mrs. Bass.

The last thing the family needed was another setback but it came in the form of two long-standing Sycamore trees. "Those two trees -- one in front of our house and our neighbor's house," said Mrs. Bass. Samantha, who suffers from lung disease, started having a reaction in September when she would pass the trees. "We noticed this severe reaction that was happening every time that we'd go down the ramp in the front of our home," said Mrs. Bass. A doctor recommended the trees must come down. Since the family is cash-strapped, they decided to hold the bake sale to raise the tree removal funds.

Students such as Larissa Casselbury of Beaumont from Fortis Institute across the street began buying the treats to help the cause. "We're going to school to help people and this is one way to show people that we care," said Ms. Casselbury while fellow student Mekel Reeder of Nanticoke added "When medical issues arise with the prices of everything these days, any little bit helps." Christine Armstrong of Pittston took a break from her studies to buy a treat for a cause. "If we can help get a tree down, if that's going to help her then that's perfect," she said. One customer from the school donated $100 for a cake. "It's been phenomenal. It's been overwhelming," said Mrs. Bass while Ms. O'Gorman added, "It's so amazing that people are actually coming out and supporting us."

The bake sale to benefit Samantha O'Gorman and the tree removal continues daily from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. through Sunday at the family's home at 146 Slocum Street in Forty Fort. You can learn more about the event by clicking here. You can also check out the family's fundraising site by clicking here.

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Family Holds Bake Sale to Fund Removal of Tree Health Threat