Friends rally to help family in time of need

BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

STEVEN M. BARON Signs on an East Brunswick property advertise how the community can help Joe Kerschner and family while Joe recovers from a bone marrow transplant. EAST BRUNSWICK - Some good deeds do, in fact, go unpunished.

Township resident Joe Kerschner and his family are finding that out firsthand.

Kerschner, 36, was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) about two years ago, and recently underwent a bone marrow transplant that is aimed to get the cancer in remission. He is unable to work as he recovers, and it's estimated he will be out of work for up to a year.

Fortunately, Kerschner has many friends and neighbors who are looking to help by holding fundraisers to assist the family with its bills during this time.

The first is a garage sale planned for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 10 Peach Orchard Drive, which is off Ryders Lane and across from St. Bartholomew's Church.

Kerschner's neighbor Ronnie Walsh said friends and family have donated items to be sold at the garage sale, with the proceeds going to the family.

There will also be an ongoing can collection program. Residents will find drop-off tubs throughout town labeled "Cans For Joe." The cans will be sold for recycling, with the revenue given to the Kerschner family. Cans will also be collected at the garage sale.

The Kerschners, Walsh said, have always taken their empty cans to the recycling center for extra cash, a family tradition started by Joe Kerschner's late grandfather.

Kerschner's wife, Terri, said the medications he has taken for two years were not helpful in treating the leukemia, which was caught at an early stage. As a result, he recently underwent the transplant, and he has many days when he does not feel so great.

She said he was physically healthy while on the medications, but chemo and radiation have taken their toll.

A drive was held at St. Bart's to find a bone marrow match for Joe last year.

"Many people came to donate blood. Fortunately, a match for Joe was found through the donor program," Walsh said. "Although this is a huge blessing, Joe's battle is far from over."

She said the transplant is placing a major financial hardship on the family. Joe and Terri have a son who attends Memorial Elementary School, and two children in preschool.

"What some people don't realize is that there are medical expenses which are not covered by insurance for these types of illnesses. Medical insurance has caps on lifetime expenses. Procedures like these go well over those amounts. Disability insurance helps, but does not replace a breadwinner's salary," Walsh said.

She said all the help is in return for what Kerschner has done for others. Kerschner, she said, "is not 'average Joe.' "

"He happens to be one of the kindest and most humble men I know," she said. "He is always ready and willing to help someone, from fixing their car to helping carry or move heavy items. He is a loving husband and devoted father."

Terri, a substitute school teacher in East Brunswick, has also helped out other needy families.

"Therefore when the family needed help, it seemed only right that the people who knew and cared for them the most step up and try to help them," Walsh said.

Anyone interested in donating items for the garage sale or giving empty cans on a regular basis should contact Walsh at (732) 698-0208.