A fund is being set up at the National Exchange Bank for a Fond du Lac boy who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Fourteen year old Fond du Lac High School freshman Gavin Bartels is scheduled to begin radiation treatment next week. In an exclusive interview with WFDL news Gavin’s mother Sarah Bartels says when she took Gavin to the hospital emergency room January 29 because he wasn’t feeling well doctors initially thought he may have meningitis. But after doing a CT scan doctors discovered a tumor on his brain and he was rushed to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee for emergency surgery. “February 8 is when we got the results back and we met with his oncology team and they gave us the sad news,” Bartels told WFDL news. Doctors said Gavin had a rare form of brain cancer and that it was terminal. Bartels says next week Gavin begins a seven week radiation program that doctors say will give him more time to live. She says through all of this her son remains strong. “He is an amazing guy and he is so strong. He’s very positive,’ Bartels said. Bartels says the family plans to focus on the time they have been given with Gavin, doing the things he loves to do. “…hoping in the next couple of months we can get some bucket-list things done and have some fun as a family.” Bartels says she wants the family to enjoy the time that they are given and not focus on the time they do not have. His former principal at Sabish Middle School, John Colwin, is in the process of establishing an account at the National Exchange Bank to help the family with medical expenses. Colwin and Bartels say despite the prognosis Gavin maintains a positive attitude.
