ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL (March 18, 2008) \u2013 Gladlyn Dahlgren says she is grateful to the teenagers who attend the Covenant Church of Schaumburg and recently raised thousands of dollars to benefit the family of her seriously ill grandson, even though they don\u2019t know him.
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\nThirteen teenagers ranging from junior high to college age served a spaghetti dinner earlier this month that raised $4,000. \u201cIt was wonderful,\u201d says Dahlgren, who works in the church office.<\/p>\n
They served the dinner to help the family of Dahlgren\u2019s grandson, Sammy Benson, who lives in another Chicago suburb with his parents, Collette and Chuck Benson. He was 10 years old when he suffered \u201cmassive seizures\u201d last July due to what was later diagnosed as a rare auto immune disease brought on by vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels. Doctors induced a coma to protect the boy\u2019s brain, but told the family there was a good chance he would not recover.<\/p>\n
Benson has slowly been getting better, however, after spending months in Children\u2019s Memorial Hospital and a rehabilitation center, Dahlgren says. \u201cHe can read, but he can\u2019t write.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has returned to the mental capacity of a six-year-old and also continues to work on his motor skills, Dahlgren says. No one is sure how much of a recovery to expect.<\/p>\n
A family friend, Martha Mueller organized the benefit dinner to help the family, which has been hit by high medical bills. Mueller says she was shocked when the dinner raised $4,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was amazing,\u201d she says. \u201cI thought we would raise $1,000 or maybe $1,500.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also praised the students. \u201cWe started serving at 5:30 p.m. and then when those people were getting ready to leave, all of a sudden there was another 30 people coming through the door.\u201d Many of the people came from the community.<\/p>\n
Mueller says she is not surprised at the hard work put in by the students. \u201cThey really have a heart for things like this. They\u2019re just a very caring group of kids.\u201d<\/p>\n