Karl Potach was just five days shy of his fifth birthday when he succumbed to cancer.

Thursday, January 06, 2000

Karl Potach was just five days shy of his fifth birthday when he succumbed to cancer. His delight in the fish tank where he took his therapy at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester hasn’t been forgotten – nor will it be.

With funds from the annual Karl Potach Golf Outing, an aquarium full of colorful freshwater fish has been set up in the pediatrics inpatient section of Austin Medical Center.

"It was basically Lance Pogones who came up with the whole idea," explained Tami Oldfather, head of communications for Austin Medical Center. "He’s a friend of Kurt and Brenda Potach."

When Karl died, his family responded not just with grief, but as proactively as possible. The Potaches and the Pogoneses – Lance and Snow – organized the golf outing to raise money for research for a cure in hopes that other families would not have to endure the same tragedy. The largest portion of money from the golf event goes to the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, but when the medical center approached the family about a memorial in the form of a fish tank for other children to enjoy, they responded eagerly.

"While he did get some treatments at the medical center here, which is how so many of the staff came to know Karl, he spent a lot of time at St. Mary’s, where he got to watch a bullhead grow from a baby to an adult in their fish tank," Oldfather said. "First thing in the morning, he would get up and go look at it."

A dedication plaque will be affixed to the tank, which currently has about 20 fish. The tank will be professionally serviced monthly, but hospital staff are responsible for feeding the fish.