LEROY – Over 650 people said they are behind Zane Rollins all the way Friday night.

Sunday, September 05, 1999

LEROY – Over 650 people said they are behind Zane Rollins all the way Friday night.

They stood in long lines and even waited patiently when they ran out of food so overwhelming was the response to the benefit for the teenage cancer victim.

They signed their names to a huge card for the youth, bought raffle tickets to raise more money and otherwise gave their support to one of their own.

A large box collected the free-will donations of the throng who attended the Rollins benefit.

"It’s been so overwhelming," said Sandra Rollins, mother of Zane. "Our town is just the greatest. These people are sensational."

The mother shared hugs with friends and her husband, Zane’s father, Greg, shared handshakes. Every greeting ended with a personal "Thank You" from the parents.

Marian (Mrs. John) Grass clasped the mother’s hand in hers and said, "I pray for you every day, and every night you are on my prayer list, too."

The target of all the attention took it with ease. He talked with LeRoy-Ostrander High School sophomore classmates and other students, wished the Cardinals "Good luck" in their game Friday night against Nicollet, did his share of hugging and hand-shaking and kept smiling.

"It’s really fun to see everybody," he said in between thanking guests for coming. "There are relatives and neighbors and just plain strangers here tonight and they are all very nice."

Zane Rollins suffers from ependymoma, a cancer that affects the central nervous system. Tumors have been found at the base of his skull atop the spinal column and five times he has had surgeries to remove them.

The tumors, once the size of a kiwi fruit and now the size of kidney beans, keep coming back.

He suffered his first bout of the cancer in 1995 and for the last four years, his life has been interrupted for weeks at a time by illness, surgery and recovery.

With his parents’ authorization, new surgical techniques and new drugs have been tried to no avail. Chemo therapy/radiation treatments work, but only for awhile.

The cancerous tumors keep coming back.

Healthy now, he is presently awaiting the results of the latest tests to see if still another – the sixth brain surgery – will have to be performed.

His father, Greg, has been with Hanson Tire Service for 22 years. His mother, Sandra, is a homemaker. He has a brother, James, who left Saturday for fall classes at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

The cancer has exacted a physical toll on the victim. He lost strength in his right arm and hand and now is learning to use his left. His shaved head is not a teenager’s affectation, but a reminder of the surgeries and treatments that have become almost routine to his life. Instead of growing pains, the teenager suffers pain. It comes and goes.

The family has insurance, but none could cover the expenses they continually incur, because of their son’s illness and their own quest to find a cure.

LeRoy residents, mainly a group of elementary school teachers, rallied to hold a pork sandwich benefit supper Friday night in the LOHS commons prior to the season-opening football game.

The Rollins family was there throughout the event.

"I’ve been so busy tonight talking to people and thanking them. They’ve come from Chester, Iowa, where we’re from and Lime Springs and Decorah and all over," the father said. "It’s just an incredible feeling to have people do something like this for your son. We appreciate it."

"It’s a big boost. It will help and we are very grateful. These people are just sensational," the mother said.

"I don’t mind all of the attention. I really don’t. The people are very kind. I still want to be treated as an individual. I’m just dealing with something that happened to me. That’s all," said Zane.

In a cruel twist of fate, the family had not learned the results of the latest tests and brain scan taken last week and spent the Labor Day weekend wondering.

"We are in the dark. We don’t know. All we can do is wait for them and then see if we have to go through another surgery or what," said the mother.