At just 17 months old, Catie Maurer was diagnosed with stage four cancer.
Her battle with Pre-B Cell Non Hodgkins Lymphoma and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia included two years of chemotherapy.
Bad-tasting steroids and frequent spinal taps became routine for Catie, but she recently celebrated four years of remission and two-and-a-half years of being chemo-free.
Catie is currently a star on the soccer field, after trying her hand recently in competitive cheer and gymnastics.
Her parents, Ed and Julie Maurer of Lake Orion, said their daughter’s strength and courage inspired them, with the help of friends and family, to raise over $10,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
All of this in addition to caring for Catie, now 5, and older brothers Charlie, 12, and Jacob, 10.
Both boys are members of the Rochester Gymnastics Club, where mom serves as a coach.
Through a program called Team in Training, Ed and Julie have run in a combined total of five marathons. But now Julie is taking on her biggest challenge yet: an Olympic distance triathlon.
‘Team in Training provides a detailed schedule for you,? she said, noting that a different leg of the swim/bike/run is scheduled each day, with an occasional stretch and rest day in between.
Maurer said that swimming is easily her biggest challenge in this new endeavor.
An Olympic-distance triathlon consists of a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km bike and a 10 km run. That’s 32 miles total.
Perhaps just as challenging as the race itself is the fundraising aspect, which calls for Maurer to raise $4,000 by the end of August. She made it a personal goal to up that number to $5,000.
The race itself, the Dave Scott’s Texas Man Triathlon, will be held in Irving, Texas on September 16.
Maurer’s big fundraising effort will take place this weekend, July 29, as she will host a musical and buffet at Kalloway’s Restaurant and Pub, located at 595 N. Lapeer in Oxford.
The musical, written by friends of Maurer and titled ‘Cancer! The Musical? fits in nicely with her mission.
The play will be performed by cast members from the always hilarious Second City, based in Novi.
‘Cancer!? is a witty play about a doctor who believes he has found a cure for cancer and the evil head of a pharmaceutical company who wants to kill him and steal the cure.
The story is intricately woven with a love story between a woman who finds out she has cancer and her doctor, who desperately needs to cure her.
But the icing on the cake is the singing lab rats and their pride in the chance to be the one who cures cancer.
‘Singing lab rats,? Maurer explained, ‘you can’t go wrong with that.?
Doors will open at Kalloway’s at 6 p.m., with an appetizer buffet being served starting at 6:30, and the show starting promptly at 8 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now for $40 and are expected to go fast, with Kalloway’s equipped to seat 120.
For additional information on tickets for ‘Cancer! The Musical,? Team In Training or The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, contact Julie Barnes Maurer at 693-6797, or email her at edandjulie@ameritech.net.
The play’s website is cancerthemusical.com.
Donations to Maurer’s fundraising efforts can be made online by visiting www.active.com/donate/tntmi/tntmiJMaurer2.