A hastily arranged benefit for a Fulshear teen with terminal cancer raised more than $21,000 over the weekend to offset travel expenses for what her classmates are calling “Carly's Great Adventure.”
Carly Davis, 16, plans to start with a volcano tour in Hawaii before jet-setting to Europe with her family. Along the way, she's hoping for art, cello and horseback-riding lessons.
“We'll be able to get going on Hawaii towards the end of February,” her mother, LeeAnn Clement, said Sunday. “When we get back we'll be planning the trip to Europe. Time is of the essence.”
Doctors have said the teen, who was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, an aggressive cancer that attacks the bone and soft tissue, has about a year to live.
Today will be her last day at Richmond's Foster High School, unless she stops by Tuesday to finish her long list of goodbyes. Carly has a lot of friends — more than she even realized. People she had never met came to offer their support at a carnival-themed benefit Saturday, organized by a classmate, Elyssa Garza, and Elyssa's mother, Evelyn Martin.
The benefit that they planned in less than a week featured carnival games, a live band, a silent auction, a cake raffle, barbecue, popcorn and cotton candy, held under the big top of Martin's Fulshear mortgage office. Attendance and donations far outpaced their expectations.
Elyssa didn't even know Carly before she heard about her battle with incurable cancer and her dream to see the world.
“Yesterday was seriously one of the best days of my life,” Elyssa said Sunday. “I'm really glad we got a huge turnout from my high school. She was able to see that her school supports her.”
Jessica Villarreal, 16, organized a basketball game at the carnival. She's been friends with Carly since the eighth grade, and the two rode the school bus together. She was touched to see Carly light up at Saturday's benefit.
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