Joining Together To Help
Mark Milligan (standing) and Lori Milligan (seated) enjoy themselves at a benefit in Lori's honor Saturday
Neighbor helping neighbor, friend helping friend; it’s what people do when those around them are in need.
Local emergency workers stepped up to help one of their own, Lori Milligan. Milligan, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, is a 911 dispatcher for Mahaska County and has been, and still is, the link between those in need and the police, fire, and paramedics for the past 13 years.
Lori said she found out about the benefit when one of her co-workers asked her what she thought about a benefit being put on, and how she (Lori) and her husband Mark would feel about it.
Lori, who was overwhelmed with the support shown to her, said, “it’s crazy, it’s just so many people. It’s just overwhelming to see all the people that will come out to support you, when you feel like sometimes your alone.”
“Me and Mark felt funny at first,” Lori said about the fundraiser, “it’s just weird, because we would rather be helping other people. Normally we would be doing it, instead of them doing it for us. It’s different.”
“It’s amazing,” Lori’s husband Mark had to say about the packed VFW building.
Lori said that her treatments are going good, and of the 20 weeks she started with, only 11 remain. Lori said things are getting better, “this chemo’s not as bad as the first, so it’s getting better.”
With so many people involved with the law center having so much to do with the event, it was hard for Lori to single out any one person. Mary Ann Harding, Lt. Plum, Troy Bemis, Scott Miller and Trevor Wells were just a few names that came out, “there’s just so many people that got together to do it, that they just told us all we had to do was show up.”
Lori is looking to come back to work on a part-time basis starting soon, “and I know the girls will be glad when I’m back.”
“I’ve got to get back to something normal for me; ’cause man, I’m getting tired of not being normal.”
Life Flight landed on Hawkeye Lumber's front lawn to take three lucky auction winners on a tour of Oskaloosa from the air. (photo by Ginger Allsup)
Chief Deputy Trevor Wells said that it was several people within the Sheriffs Office and the 911 Center, Police Department, and Fire Department, “all of us combined did quite a bit to get this thing underway for Lori and her husband Mark.”
Wells said the hope was to help them out with some of the hidden expenses “that come along with the kind of treatment that she’s going through right now.”
“Pleasantly surprised,” was how Wells described the turnout on hand to attend the auction, along with eating a free-will donation dinner that was prepared by Dave Christenson, one of Oskaloosa’s very own Fire Captain’s.
With more than enough volunteers, the workload on those helping was made easier.
Ottumwa Police Department brought a .40 caliber hand gun to be raffled off along with the two fire hydrants donated by CLOW, that had been painted up in Iowa and Iowa State colors.
One of the very unique auction items was a chance to take a ride in a Life Flight helicopter. Three tickets were auctioned off and, a short time later, the winners were loaded into the seats of the aircraft and taken for a tour above Oskaloosa.
