Attend fundraiser to help Jacob Freed family
Family and friends of 5-year-old Jacob R. Freed, who died March 13 from a sudden illness, are hosting a fundraiser to cover his burial expenses. A spaghetti dinner will be 4 to 8 pm. Saturday at the Sheffield Township Fire Hall on Clinton Avenue. Proceeds will help the family of Jacob R. Freed of Elyria.

His mother, Brandy Freed, said Jacob was a fun-loving, happy child who seemed to be in good health. On March 3, Jacob woke up complaining of a headache. Brandy said she sent her son back to bed after giving him a pain reliever, but when she came back to check on him, he was unresponsive.
Jacob was rushed to EMH Regional Medical Center and later taken by ambulance to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. Doctors there discovered Jacob suffered from a congenital condition called Arterio-Venous Malformation, or AVM.

AVM is an abnormal collection of blood vessels. Normally, “good” blood is pumped from the heart through the arteries, distributed to tissues and organs by capillaries, and the “used” blood is returned to the heart by way of the veins. But for a person with AVM, there are areas of the brain where the capillaries are missing.

Freed said doctors told her AVM likely caused Jacob’s brain to bleed and caused a stroke. By the time he made it to Cleveland, he was in a coma.
He never regained consciousness.

“Jacob didn’t have a headache until that morning, but by then it was too late,” Freed said. “Doctors don’t know what causes it. All I know is, the day before he was in the hospital, he was running around the house playing.”

Jacob enjoyed playing video games and watching SpongeBob SquarePants and Spider-Man cartoons. He also loved playing with his brothers, Lee Miller and Brandon Freed, his mother said.

“I’m really going to miss his smile,” she said. “No matter what time — day or night — or who you were, he always had a smile.”
Saturday’s benefit will include a 50/50 raffle. Donated prizes include an Elyria Animal Hospital gift certificate, a family bowling package at Brunswick Zone and a gift basket from Basket of Blessings at Midway Mall.

The cost is $10 per adult and $5 per child, which includes spaghetti dinner, salad, dinner roll, drink and dessert. If you are unable to attend, donations can also be made at any Lorain National Bank branch in the name of Jacob Freed.

For information, call Renee Beaton at (440) 282-5547, Rita Ferguson at (440) 322-4994 or Sue Quale at (440) 366-6004.

LCCC group wins competition
The Lorain County Community College Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team returned to Elyria as winners after participating in the Cleveland SIFE USA Regional Competition on Wednesday.

After presenting a report of the team’s yearlong community outreach projects to a panel of business leaders, the team was named a SIFE USA Regional Champion and will now advance to the national competition in Chicago.

“I feel like I just won the Super Bowl,” said team member Rick Fernandez. “I really enjoy our Fit to be Hired program, since it allows me to work with high school students, teaching them skills they can use to prepare for job interviews,” he said.

During this academic year, the LCCC SIFE team delivered 26 projects in Lorain and Cuyahoga counties, as well as an international project in Rwanda, Africa.

“I am so proud of our team,” said Maria McConnell, SIFE team adviser and LCCC business professor. “Every year, the competition intensifies and to be able to walk away with this award is truly an honor and a testament to the impact our students have on our campus and the community.”
SIFE teams create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that teach market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial success skills and business ethics.

EMH surgery a first
A medical first recently took place at EMH Regional Medical Center.

It became the first medical facility in the U.S. where the newest Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), a preventive treatment for sudden cardiac death, was successfully implanted.

The surgery was performed March 10 by Dr. Stephen Moore, a board-certified electrophysiolo-gist. The surgery is just another advancement for the hospital, which has become one of the country’s leaders in both invasive and non-invasive cardiology.

The device is small enough to fit into the palm of an adult’s hand and is placed in patients who have irregular heartbeats due to prior heart attack or heart disease. Once implanted, the device monitors the patient’s heart rhythms and automatically delivers a small electrical jolt when an arrhythmia is detected. The charge jumpstarts the heart to a normal rhythm.

Moore, who has more than 16 years of experience implanting ICDs in patients, was chosen by the manufacturer to implant the device and will further his research in the coming months when he will be the primary investigator in a national research study to determine additional methods to maximize the heart patient care.

Night out with theater, dinner
Looking for dinner and a show? Well, Main Street Elyria has just the event for you.At 6 p.m. Saturday, start by taking a trolley ride to the Elyria Opera House, better known as City Hall, for the production “They Called It Vaudeville,” presented by the Elyria High School Drama Department and Summer Theater Program.
The evening will be filled with music, poetry, comedy, and a special presentation of The Pirates of Penzance by the Might Goliath Players. Get into the fun and come dressed in 1880s to 1900 period garb.

Then, hop back on the trolley for a short drive to the Elyria Elks, where dinner will be served at 8 p.m.
Reservations are required as seats are limited. Tickets are $75 per person, and $140 per couple. R.S.V.P. by Monday to Main Street Elyria at (440) 322-5000.
Please make all checks payable to Main Street Elyria, 104 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035.

Athletic Boosters fundraiser
From 6 p.m. to midnight April 5, the Elyria High Pioneer Club Athletic Boosters will be holding its annual Reverse Raffle, Dinner and Dance at DeLuca’s Place in the Park. Funds raised from this event will be used to pay for special field upgrades, equipment and uniforms.

The event begins with dinner, which includes appetizers, entree, and dessert and bar service. Music will be provided by Mike Moore until midnight.
There will be numerous raffles through out the night, including a grand prize of $5,000. In addition, there will be several silent auction items to bid on, including framed portraits of Elyria native and Louisiana State University Head Coach Les Miles, four tickets to a Cleveland Cavaliers game and a signed C.C. Sabathia baseball.

Admission is $130 for two dinner tickets and one big board raffle ticket, or $85 for one dinner and one big board ticket.To make your ticket and dinner reservation, call Jim Backs, Pioneer Club President, at (440) 365-7982, Terri Guerini, Pioneer Club Secretary, at (440) 322-3683 and the Athletic Office at (440) 284-8256. Mail your check made out to Elyria Pioneer Club, P.O. Box 935, Elyria, OH 44036.

Pancake breakfastHoly Cross Church in Elyria, 1417 West Ave., will hold its annual pancake and sausage breakfast and bake sale 9 a.m. to noon April 6. Tickets are available at the door. Dine in or take out.Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for children 6 to 12 and free for children ages 5 and younger. For information, call (440) 323-1022.

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