Katie Wagner Moves a Community to Action

A little boy was having difficulty lifting a heavy stone. His father came along just then. Noting the boy’s failure, he asked, “Are you using all your strength?”

“Yes I am,” the little boy said impatiently.

“No, you are not,” the father answered. “I am right here just waiting, and you haven’t asked me to help you.”

Katie Wagner’s family hardly had time to ask for help before all of the help started to roll in from family, friends, neighbors and even strangers from different parts of the country. They have had a few “heavy stones” to lift in recent years, and the heaviest was unveiled just a few days before this issue of ImagesAZ went to press.

Katie Wagner, a 15 year old (she will turn 16 in November) sophomore at Boulder Creek High School, was recently diagnosed with stage four lung/bone cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma. This is a rare and aggressive cancer for which she has already started chemotherapy treatments.

Katie is the daughter of Steve and Jacque Wagner, and sister to Chase (a senior at Boulder Creek) and Brett (a fourth grader at Anthem Elementary). The Wagner Family was one of the very first families to buy a home in Anthem. They attend CCV and have a strong Christian faith that they are counting on through what will surely be a lengthy process.

According to her Aunt, Sandy Struss, Katie Wagner is known for her bright personality, positive outlook on life, and “roll with it” attitude. She recently received her Pomeranian puppy, Molly, which she had been asking for, for quite a while. She is a member of choir, Young Life – Anthem, and she is a big Taylor Swift fan. Before her diagnosis, she had planned on going on a mission trip to Africa – a dream that she has always held. She now views her mission in life very differently.

Sandy says that she now considers Boulder Creek High School as her mission field. In just the couple days following her diagnosis Katie has managed to mobilize hundreds of high schoolers and thousands of community members. She will no doubt continue to move young people in her school, and people throughout the community.

In addition to the moral support and show of love from the community, an account has been set up for Katie at Mid First Bank (A We Care Anthem account). We Care Anthem is a 501c3 non profit corporation. It was created in 2001 to help families with children who have life threatening illnesses. We Care is a volunteer-run organization and 100% of the funds benefit the children – in this case, Katie Wagner.

We Care has also pledged 100% of the proceeds from their upcoming 9th Annual We Care Charity Golf Benefit on Friday, Nov. 18th at the Country Club’s Ironwood Golf Course.

In the days following her diagnosis, there have already been numerous events planned and held in Katie’s honor, with proceeds going toward Katie’s medical expenses, including “Hands Across Anthem,” Musical Theatre of Anthem event at Streets of New York for Le Chat Noir Cabaret, and a car wash at CVS, among many others. Young people across the Valley have been moved by Katie’s story, including teams like the Stallion’s football team who collected $1000 throughout their season. The money would normally be used for events such as their end-of-the-year party, but the members decided on their own to forego the party and donate it to Katie Wagner’s We Care account.

For those who want to reach out to Katie and her family, there have been facebook pages erected, including

www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Well-Katie-Wagner and

www.facebook.com/pages/Wagner-Family-Support.

Mid First Bank: 2033005575

We Care in Anthem: 3655 West Anthem Way, Ste. A-109 PMB 280, Anthem 85086

To register for the We Care in Anthem Golf Tournament: email golf@gosfm.com

For additional information: www.wecareatanthem.org