NEIGHBORS

FOOD

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Julie and Maury Kessler and their kids were broken-hearted by the tragic accidental drowning of one of their dogs last year. Now they have started a campaign to prevent other tragedies inadvertently caused by contractors. Brie Dragonattie, assistant principal of Notre Dame Preparatory, is flanked by Radia Wong, left, and Lillian Mueller, a member of the student-run nonprofit Students Supporting Brain Tumor Re-

BY MELODY BIRKETT Progress Contributor

The statistics are alarming. Within the next 12 months, over 200,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with a primary or metastatic brain tumor.

Brain tumors are now the leading cause of solid tumor cancer deaths in children through high-school age and the secondleading cause of cancer deaths in young adults ages 20 to 39.

Even benign brain tumors. Due to their location, they are difficult to treat and often severely compromise the quality of life. The cure rate for most brain tumors is significantly lower than that for most

BY SUSIE STECKNER

Progress Guest Writer When Julie and Maury Kessler decided to repair the roof on their Scottsdale home, they other types of cancer. asked all the typical questions of the Amid these gloomy statistics, a nonroofing company: How long would the profit was started in Arizona in 2002 to project take? What was the repair cost? raise funds for brain tumor research. Was there anything they should know It was founded shortly after three stuin advance? dents from the Paradise Valley School

What the couple did not know was District were diagnosed with brain tuthat a lightweight, clear plastic cover- mors and ultimately died. Students Suping would be placed over the pool. That porting Brain Tumor Research is the largattracted the couple’s dog Oakley, who est student-run non-profit in Arizona. So had never shown an interest in the pool far, it has raised over $3.7 million. before. In just moments, he fell into the The organization provides opportunipool and drowned. ties for students to work with managers

“I jumped in as fast as I could, but I of large companies, do media interviews, couldn’t save him,” said Julie Kessler. talk with researchers and observe live “Now, I’ve made it my mission to help other families avoid tragedy. Through

Scottsdale family urges

Oakley’s Oath, we’re educating home dog owners to ‘PAWS’ - Students run group to search. (Special to the Tribune) owners about asking all the right questions and we’re also planning to work with companies so they understand the fight brain tumorsimportance of explaining exactly what is going to happen inside and outside the home.” The Kesslers lost Oakley in 2021; one of their other dogs, Oakley’s brother Spex, passed away months later. The family believes Spex was broken-hearted. Kessler launched the grassroots Oakley’s Oath last year. She is raising awareness through Oakley’s Oath social media accounts and also on the Nextdoor app. She is also sharing Oakley’s story with corporations like Chewy.com in hopes of finding like-minded partners. UltiseeOAKLEY page 22

BASIS Mesa Class of 2022 member Ayush Kothari co-chairs the student-run nonprofit. (Special to the Tribune) seeTUMOR page 23

mately, she wants to recruit contractors to take Oakley’s Oath and commit to best practices for their customers.

Oakley’s story has already helped save at least one dog’s life. A homeowner recently told Kessler that after reading one of the social media posts, she was “extra vigilant” during construction and acted fast to save her dog who had fallen in a tarp-covered pool.

The Kesslers adopted Oakley and Spex together and named the brothers after eyeglass brands as a nod to Maury’s profession as an optometrist. The pups bonded instantly with the couple’s two daughters as well as the family’s third dog.

Last year, during the roof repair at their home, Julie let the three dogs out to go to the bathroom like usual. But nothing about that day was usual.

“When you have people in your house doing work, or even visitors from out of town, the daily routine and the way the household operates is different,” Kessler said. “For Oakley, that plastic covering was just different enough to attract his attention and change his routine.”

Kessler soon heard barking and ran outside, spotting Oakley under the covering that had been loosely placed on the pool.

By the time she jumped in and pulled him free, it was too late. Oakley would have been 16 years old this May.

“We continue to struggle with Oakley’s death. Pets truly are members of the family,” said Julie. “I can’t bring him back, but I’m channeling my pain into purpose and prevention.”

Ask workers what you need to know to protect your children and pets.

Insist that sliding doors be closed and outside gates locked at all times. If workers need to prop gates or doors open for any reason, make sure they let you know.

Lock your doggie door so pets can’t go outside without your knowledge.

Find out if a tarp or other covering will be placed over your pool. Make sure it’s sturdy, covers the entire pool and is weighted down around the perimeter.

Ask if the company will be using any chemicals that would be toxic if ingested by pets.

Keep pets safe and out of workers’ way by using a kennel or secure room. Alert workers with a sign reading “Pets inside. Do not open.”

Make sure your pet is micro-chipped and wearing a collar and tags with your name and phone number. This step is vital if your dog escapes.

Make daily checks of work areas and remove any hazards.

Check back in with workers frequently about any changes or adjustments they may be making that could impact pet safety in and around your home. Be extra vigilant. Accidents can happen even if you’ve done your homework.

Know anything interesting going on in Scottsdale?

Send your news to agallagher@TimesLocalMedia.com

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brain surgery.

Ayush Kothari, who just graduated from BASIS Mesa and is the current co-chair for SSBTR, already has plans to extend the organization’s reach to other states. He joined the group three years ago, explaining that it was disturbing enough “to hear about statistics and what demographics brain tumors affect and how they disproportionately impact the youth population.”

But when Ayush talked to a survivor, he decided to join SSBTR and applied to become an ambassador. “Having that connection with the person who was a survivor and hearing about their journey, the emotions, brought an incredibly personal touch which statistics themselves weren’t able to provide,” Ayush said. “Just hearing that story is what made me want to become involved in the organization.”

Ayush recently talked to a doctor researching Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, a fatal condition in children with a zero survival rate.

“It’s not curable,” he explained. “Current treatments improve quality of life but they can’t extend life itself. It’s an incredibly complex disease but we’re making steps to combatting it and creating a treatment plan that can help these children recover. And being able to help contribute towards that is very fulfilling.” He said the organization has two main goals.

“One is increasing awareness about brain tumors and the second is raising funds,” Kothari explained. “To accomplish these two goals, first, we get researchers to talk with us. We hear directly from researchers and they can talk to us about different areas they’re working with and what research is being done with the funds that SSBTR has provided.

“We hear cutting-edge research from phenomenal institutes like Barrow Neurological Institute, T-Gen, the National Brain Tumor Society, and Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and University of Arizona Medical Research,” he continued.

“From these different areas, we can see what SSBTR’s tangible impact is. That helps increase awareness among the people we’re reaching out to.” He noted that 93% of every dollar raised goes directly to these institutions to fund brain tumor research.

“Second, for raising funds, we have ambassadors conducting their own fundraisers where they have their own events to increase awareness and response,” Kothari said.

“At a “cur-a-thon” event earlier this year at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, the group raised $22,000.

Radia Wong, a newly minted Notre Dame Preparatory graduate, has been involved in SSBTR since her freshman year and is also a student co-chair. “We help lead the meetings and we organize our fundraisers so that we can help raise money for SSBTR to donate to brain tumor research organizations,” she said.

She knows a lot of people at SSBTR who’ve been impacted by brain tumors and said, “I’ve met a lot of these wonderful people who have lost their children, brothers or sisters to brain tumors.”

Radia is also an advocate for the National Brain Tumor Society, talking and lobbying congressional representatives and senators and their offices.

“I also try working with other volunteers who are doctors and relatives of people who’ve passed away from brain tumors. We’re all working together to try and persuade the congressional officials to help pass legislation to increase funding for brain tumor research and also to help patients and caregivers.”

As she heads off to college, Radia wants to continue with the organization.

“SSBTR helped me develop my interests in the brain and how humans think,” adding she’s considering a career in brain research.

“My advice to others thinking of joining is SSBTR is it’s a wonderful cause where volunteers, students and adults, are passionate and inspired to make a difference to help improve patient’s lives,” she said.

“We are a team working through establishing and bringing together everyone’s different ideas and strengths to create these wonderful events.”

She said the group is expanding this year, starting at lower grade levels such as elementary and middle school and going into universities. “We’re a growing organization and we’d love for other people to get involved,” added Ayush. “And the more people that are involved the closer we get to finding a cure.”