Ronnie Locey-Scholler couldn’t talk enough about the trip he returned from last week. Along with his parents, the 2005 Falls High graduate traveled to North Carolina Oct. 10-17, for a week full of NASCAR races and visiting family.
“It was the best time I’ve ever had,” Locey-Scholler said of the trip.
The Scholler family’s trip was made possible by Dream Foundation — an organization that makes dreams come true for adults facing life-threatening illnesses. In Locey-Scholler’s case, he was granted the trip to experience his favorite racing sport and get to know family better after being diagnosed earlier this year with a grade three astrocytoma, an inoperable cancerous brain tumor.
“It has been a long few months,” said Jeanie, Locey-Scholler’s mother.
Ronnie was only give 3-6 months to live following his diagnosis, but the 25-year-old beat those odds then and plans to continue that pattern.
A rough start to 2012
Ronnie was about four hours into a night shift working on the paper machines at Boise Inc. Jan. 2, when he began experiencing blurred vision. Deciding to check it out, he visited the on-site doctor. But while trying to articulate what was happening, Ronnie fell to the floor as he experienced a drop seizure.
“I don’t remember that,” Ronnie said of the night.
He was rushed by ambulance to Rainy Lake Medical Center, but was then taken to Duluth where he spend several days in the hospital.
“We were there over two weeks,” Ronnie said.
Jeanie said when Ronnie was 3 months old, he had hydrocephalus, which is a buildup of fluid inside the skull that leads to brain swelling.
“He had to have major brain surgery and doctors put a (cerebral) shunt in,” she explained. “When he was 11 years old, it malfunctioned and it had to be replaced.”
Jeanie said the early-morning Jan. 24 call didn’t worry her much because she thought it was a repeat of 14 years ago.
“I figure we’d get the shunt fixed and be home within four days,” she said.
This time, it wasn’t the shunt. Doctors treated Ronnie for a number of conditions before doing a brain biopsy.
“They told us it wasn’t cancer, it was just an infection,” Ronnie said.
Jeanie said the family was excited by the news, but after consulting with doctors at the Mayo Clinic, the astrocytoma was confirmed.
“They came and told us it was cancer,” Jeanie recalls. “And actually, the shunt was keeping it from spreading.”
Wikipedia.com says there are numerous grading systems in use for the classification of tumors like Ronnie’s in the central nervous system. The World Health Organization grading system is commonly used for astrocytoma and was established in an effort to eliminate confusion regarding diagnoses. The WHO system established a four-tiered histologic grading guideline for astrocytomas that assigns a grade from 1 to 4, with 1 being the least aggressive and 4 being the most aggressive. In Ronnie’s case, his tumor is a 3.
Pit pass
Stacks of photos from last week’s trip took up the entire counter in Jeanie’s kitchen and the group had ear-to-ear grins recalling the trip and its highlights.
Jeanie said it all started when she took a chance this spring applying for Ronnie to receive a Dream Foundation trip after a representative from Ronnie’s stepfather Harold’s insurance company, Health System Management, contacted the family with the desire to help anyway they could.
“They really worked hard,” Jeanie said of Health System Management. “They got us to go to Dream Foundation.”
Applying for a dream trip was “a process,” Jeanie said. “But he was authorized and it really turned into a dream trip for the entire family.”
While Ronnie is a huge NASCAR fan, he said the main purpose to visit North Carolina was to spend time with his family. Harold’s uncle, Jack Scholler, lives in Statesville, N.C., and acted as a tour guide to the Scholler clan.
“He was excellent,” Jeanie said of Jack. “Spending time with (Jack) has been something the family has wanted to do for awhile. It so happened Harold’s aunt, Tootie, was out there, too. We had a fantastic time.”
The family said almost as soon as their feet touched North Carolina soil, they were attending a race of some kind.
Ronnie said meeting owners of drivers and visiting different NASCAR shops stood among the highlights of the trip, but a pit pass that granted him access to be eye level with the race cars and breathe in the dust from the track is unforgettable.
“It was a shock,” Ronnie said experience.
“Normally, people only get to spend about 30 minutes in the pit, but Ronnie spent about half the day,” Jeanie said. “It was awesome.”
She added that Dream Foundation also sent Jack tickets to attend the races, too.
The future
Since his diagnosis, Ronnie has undergone radiation and chemotherapy treatments in Hibbing, Duluth, and Rochester.
He hasn’t been able to return to work and an April 27 benefit brought in about $20,000 toward medical and travel expenses from what the Scholler family calls “a very generous community.”
“At first I was down, but seeing all those people at my benefit made my world,” Ronnie said.
Getting positive about what was happening to him was one of the biggest challenges in the past 9-1/2 months for Ronnie.
“There were a few times where I’d lay in bed,” he said. “Other than that, I feel the same.”
“It is hard as parents,” Jeanie admitted. “It is hard staying strong for him.”
Family, friends and co-workers have been extremely supportive throughout the process, Ronnie said.
“Aside from my mom, Harold, my dad, (Gene Locey), stepmom, Becky (Locey), and brothers, I owe a big thank you to Jeff and Brenda Hamilton and their family, they’ve done a lot for me,” he said.
For now, the family awaits a fifth MRI scheduled for next month to determine the next step.
Ronnie says he plans to stay positive and continue on with things he loves to do.
“You have to,” he said. “I do everything just the same as I used to.”
