Thanks to the generosity of scores of Boulder City residents, the parents of 21/2-year-old Gracie Sauer can rest more comfortably knowing that the bills from their three-week visit to a Los Angeles medical clinic can be paid off once they get home.
Jennifer and Scott Sauer amassed more than $16,000 in a little over three weeks thanks to cash donations made to a special account at the Boulder Dam Credit Union and a silent auction held in the financial institution's lobby.
The Gracie Sauer Fund brought in about $6,600, while the silent auction generated $9,455 with the sale of about 85 donated items.
Boulder City Art Guild members, who collectively donated 25 art pieces to the silent auction, managed to get final bids totaling just more than $2,700.
The hottest item just before the 4 p.m. bidding deadline Aug. 22 was Erick Begay's "New Day at the Dam," a sterling silver and No. 8 turquoise necklace valued at $1,000. Along with the necklace came a poem that started with the words, "This piece was created with hope in mind. Because with each new day there is hope."
With the clock ticking down, Don Bryce and Kara Larsen, who was bidding for Six Company Visitor Center owner Liz Pohe, seesawed back and forth with each bid topping the previous.
Bryce at $800, Larsen at $850, Bryce countered at $900, Larsen at $950, Bryce at $1,000, Larsen with $1,050, Bryce, with time waning, jumped to $1,200. Without a bat of an eye, Larsen came back at $1,300. Bryce made a quick call home and responded with a $1,350 bid, but not to be outdone, Larsen wrote down $1,500, and with it, ended the bidding.
"I'm just overwhelmed with the response," Jennifer Sauer said while tending to a smiling and energetic Gracie in her stroller. "It's been unbelievable. All I can say is thank God we live in Boulder City."
Gracie suffers from a mysterious illness that doctors still haven't figured out. Some say it's a metabolic disorder; some say it's a form of leukodystrophy that affects the white matter of the brain. She is unable to walk or use her hands much.
Whatever the condition is, Gracie has shown improvement in recent months, and her parents hope that traveling to Southern California for therapy will only make Gracie's recovery that much swifter.
The proceeds of The Gracie Sauer Fund and auction now are being put to use by the Sauers at the Neurological and Physical Abilitation Institute in El Segundo, Calif. The clinic, located a few blocks south of Los Angeles International Airport, is where Gracie is undergoing a full three weeks of intensive physical therapy that includes strengthening and conditioning sessions that last six hours per day, five days a week.
According to Jennifer Sauer, the family's total expenses for the trip, including the therapy sessions, lodging, food and other costs, will be somewhere between $15,000 and $16,000, which doesn't include lost income from Scott Sauer's home inspection business while he's away from work.
The Sauers took steps to reduce travel expenses wherever possible. They discovered that renting a two-bedroom corporate apartment in Westchester, which is immediately north of LAX airport, cost $1,000 less than trying to lodge at a hotel or motel during their three-week stay because of L.A.'s 14 percent room tax.
Suzy Hanson, a massage therapist who worked with Jennifer Sauer before she had to stay home full-time to take care of Gracie, helped coordinate the silent auction at the credit union.
"The response has been unbelievable," she said while taking stock of items at noon on the final day. "We decided it was time for us to make it happen for her. And look at it. It's been amazing. And on top of this, people have deposited more than $6,400 into Gracie's special account."
Now that the financial burden of the trip has been alleviated through the help of the donations and silent auction, Jennifer Sauer took a moment to reflect on how the community pulled together to provide her family exactly what it needed.
"It's funny how it all works out," she said. "There's a certain amount you need, and then it's all there."
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