If it takes a village to raise a child, 10-year-old Tylie Tobin could be raised a dozen times.
On Saturday at the Old Mill Farm event venue just outside of Onalaska, a crowd close to the town’s population size turned out to celebrate Tylie.
Before entering, about 500 guests passed signs declaring the event’s purpose.
“Her fight is our fight,” a sign read.
On another, “#TylieTough.”
More than a decade out from age 21, Tylie wasn’t in attendance Saturday. In thousands of prayers over the last six weeks from community members, friends and family, though, the Chehalis girl is in attendance for all of life’s moments yet to come.
On Sept. 8, doctors found a rare form of cancerous tumor on Tylie’s brain stem.
Five times per week since mid-September, parents Fallon and Roger Tobin have driven Tylie to and from Seattle Children’s Hospital for radiation treatment. This week, she is set to have three final rounds of radiation, followed by a four-week waiting period and an MRI evaluation, Fallon Tobin said Saturday.
Her doctor at Seattle Children’s is one of just eight doctors in the world who specialize in this form of cancer, according to Tylie’s mom.
“We’re praying for a miracle for her,” Fallon Tobin said. “We know that God’s been with us every step of the way, so we’re really trusting him with everything.”
According to event organizer Samantha Johnson — a lifelong friend of Fallon’s whose 11-year-old daughter, Tatum, is best friends with Tylie — Saturday’s fundraiser was meant to help take financial burden off the Tobin family.
More than 200 items were donated as raffle and silent auction prizes, and tickets were sold at $35 each. Four tables full of silent auction items were named for each of the Tobin family’s four daughters, 14-year-old twins Tanner and Taylor, 12-year-old Tinsley, and Tylie.
Asked about the most impactful moment of the benefit event, Roger Tobin said he and Fallon were extremely moved when they got a “sneak peek” of the donations on Friday night and when they saw the size of Saturday’s crowd.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Roger Tobin said of the approximately 500-person turnout. “How many friends, and not even friends — friends of friends — have heard about it and are coming out. It brings me to tears.”
Overall, Tylie is doing “really well,” Fallon Tobin said.
Despite spending five days of the week visiting Seattle, the 10-year-old Orin Smith Elementary student is still playing soccer and spending time with friends.
“She’s a pretty confident girl. She knows that she’s loved. She appreciates it, and I think she’ll be touched by (the turnout),” Fallon Tobin said Saturday. “She loves hard.”
Beyond those that donated time, food, drinks and money to Saturday’s event, several businesses in Lewis County have held benefit events for the Tobin family.
Centralia hobbies shop RC360 recently hosted a benefit raffle for Tylie. The store gave away a TRAXXAS TRX-4 High Trail Edition Chevy K10 crawler, a high-quality remote controlled truck with a retail value of $550, said owner Sherri Gallagher.
Salon Logan, a beauty salon at 1702 S. Gold St., Centralia, also sold $10 bracelets that say “#TylieTough” and 100% of the proceeds went to the Tobin family.
Donations to the family can be made at Umpqua Bank under the name “Tylie Tobin,” whereby every penny will go to the family, Johnson said. People are also encouraged to follow along the family’s journey at https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/fallontobin, where the family shares photos and updates about the cancer treatments.
