Published: October 10, 2008 10:53 pm         

Riders hope to save home

A 7-year-old Goshen boy born with a number of disorders will face his 41st surgery Thursday.

Some friends of Terris Maloyed want to make his homecoming a little easier — by allowing him to come back to his own home, his own room and his own bed. So today, there will be a benefit bike ride to help the Maloyed family keep its home.

Although it’s billed as a bike ride, all modes of transportation are welcome.

Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. and the ride begins at noon. The ride starts at American Legion Post 143 in Bristol and will end at American Legion Post 253 in North Webster. Food and drinks will be available at both posts. The ride will be followed by entertainment, raffles and an auction. The cost is $15 per person or $20 per couple.

Keeping their home is important to the Maloyeds, who’ve lost everything several times in the past just so their son can live.

Terris’ mom, Wilma, said that in the past, when Terris has had to have surgeries they’ve lost everything — their house, their vehicles.

This time, she said, “We just want to be able to keep our home and not be homeless like we have been in the past.”

Terris’ dad, James, is laid off, and Wilma has to be with her son through the long medical procedure. Doctors originally told the family it would be a 19-hour long procedure. But in speaking to doctors recently, Wilma said, the doctors told her they just performed the same bladder reconstruction surgery, but without as many complications as Terris will have, and it took 29 hours.

Terris will also be having some other procedures done, including reattaching his colon.

Terris was born with a rare condition called cloacal extrophy — he was born with his intestines and bladder on the outside of his body. The young boy also has spina bifida, short gut syndrome (and wears a colostomy bag), chronic lung disease, reactive airway disease and several other problems.

Once Terris’ surgery is done, he will have to stay at Riley Hospital for Children for about a month. Then his parents will need to take three weeks of parent care, where they will learn how to change bandages and take care of Terris. And then they have to go back and have Terris’ tubes removed. That involves another stay.

Wilma stays in Indianapolis the entire time, so she can’t work.

That’s why friends are stepping in. Those friends are Sgt. David Olsen, who recently returned from a second tour of duty in Iraq, Pfc. Beverly S. King, who will be leaving for a tour in a few days, and Terris’ great-grandfather James David Pierce, a Korean War veteran. They are hoping for a great turnout — veterans and non-veterans — to support this family.

For those who cannot make the ride, donations can be dropped off at any INTerra Credit Union and made out to Benefit of Terris U. Maloyed.