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DAVIS COUNTY -- The Utah Blaze teamed up with a Davis County community Saturday to help a 14-year-old boy who is suffering from a rare disease.
This has been an amazing, overwhelming, extremely humbling day for us and our family has felt so much love.
–Gayle Cox
The arena football team held a clinic at Davis High School, complete with motorcycle stunts, hot air balloon rides, a blood drive, a silent auction, music and more.
It was a fundraiser to help Kaysville Junior High School student Davis Cox, who not too long ago was an active football and baseball player at his school. He was recently diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disease where the marrow stops making enough red blood cells to protect his body from infection.
"It's important to give back to the community, but as a young football player and developing athlete the story really touched our hearts," said Ron James, head coach of the Blaze.
-Mayo Clinic
Davis faces a long road to recovery. Friends, family, businesses, sports teams and others held the fundraiser to make that recovery a bit easier.
"When you pull the talents and skills and time of people who wanna help together, you end up with something like this," said Amanda Covington, Davis' neighbor and the organizer of the event.
A good sized crowd showed up to hear music, sample the food booths and watch motorcycle stuntman D.J. Osborn pull off a few tricks.
Those like Davis who have aplastic anemia are susceptible to life-threatening infections, severe bleeding, and a depleted immune system. Davis is in therapy now, but may end up needing a bone marrow transplant.
Saturday's event was called "Distance for Davis," and while Davis himself could not attend, family members did and were thankful for the support.
"This has been an amazing, overwhelming, extremely humbling day for us and our family has felt so much love," said Davis' mother Gayle Cox. "If Davis were here right now he would tell you to stand strong through any adversity that you are faced with. He's been through some very tough times."
Aplastic anemia affects only three in 1 million Americans each year.
E-mail: kmccord@ksl.com
