ORGANIZERS OF Saturday’s fundraiser for 8-month-old Paisley King were overwhelmed with the turnout and support shown by the extended community. Roughly 500 people attended the event and $73,000 was raised for the baby and her family battling liver cancer. (PHOTO COURTESY GREG LATZA)

More than 500 people packed the Wes and Sherri Stekl shop building northeast of Letcher on Saturday night to support 8-month-old Paisley Ann King and her parents, Steven and Brooke King. Paisley was diagnosed with liver cancer in January, and is undergoing treatment at Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls.
The event, which is held every year for scholarships in memory of 16-year-old Tanna Kingsbury, who lost her battle to Ewing’s sarcoma in September of 2014, was held this year for Paisley, and featured a pork loin meal for a free will donation, a silent and live auction, a bouncy house and a photo booth, as well as a bean bag tournament that included 90 teams.
According to event organizers, due to the generosity of those in attendance, an amazing $73,000 was raised, which all went to the King family to help defray medical expenses.
Paisley’s mother, Brooke, said her little daughter is handling the treatments “incredibly” well. According to her Caring Bridge entry Monday following a doctor appointment, although treatments have shrunk the tumor, Paisley will need two more rounds of chemotherapy to shrink it more before having surgery to remove it.