FORTVILLE — When Rebecca Mahoney arrived outside the VFW to find a crowd waiting for her, she didn’t know what to think.
The single mother had just returned from Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, where her 13-year-old daughter, Zianna, is being treated for leukemia.
Traveling not only to the hospital, but anywhere, has been difficult for Mahoney lately, as her last three vehicles broke down in quick succession.
But not anymore. The crowd outside the VFW eventually parted, revealing her new van — a gift from Fortville’s Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts.
Mahoney admitted she was nervous when she arrived for the surprise last Wednesday.
“I’ve never been one that can get up in front of crowds,” she said. “I didn’t know what was going on. I knew something; you never know what these people have up their sleeves around here. You never know.”
Zianna was diagnosed with leukemia in January of this year, and caught an infection in her colon after starting chemotherapy.
“So it kind of prolonged everything, and she’s been in the hospital longer,” Mahoney said.
Zianna was in the hospital for about six months, then got to come home for about a week, but then started running a fever and had to return.
The family ran into more challenges when Mahoney’s car broke down. She then bought one on the online classified advertisements website Craigslist, but its transmission went out a few months after that. Mahoney traded her two broken-down vehicles for another, and then that one ended up failing too. After that, she relied on friends and family to help her get to the hospital and her job at Broadway Diner in Fortville.
“It’s rough,” Mahoney said. “It’s very stressful. With that on top of everything, trying to find a ride. Everybody has their own lives. It’s just hard.”
The Fortville community had rallied around the family before, and would do so again.
VFW Post 6904 partnered with the Iron Pigs Motorcycle Club earlier this year on a poker run that raised more than $8,500 for help with Zianna’s medical bills.
Tony Buechler, the post’s commander, recently learned of Mahoney’s car troubles on Facebook.
“It seemed logical at this point, and a no-brainer to go ahead and try to get her a car,” he said. “…Everybody in that community knows that young lady, her parents have been there for years and years, she’s got family with the post, and it just seemed like the right thing to do.”
He reached out to American Legion Post 391, which was happy to join forces on buying the vehicle for Mahoney.
Crossroads Motors in Hancock County helped the organizations find the used Dodge Grand Caravan.
“Hopefully it’s the chariot she needs,” Buechler said.
Grimm’s Detailing Solutions in Fortville donated its services, which included shampooing the vehicle’s interior and replacing all of its filters, making it safer for Zianna’s weakened immune system.
“It’s a used car, but I wanted to make it as clean and as good for her as we could,” Buechler said.
Mahoney is grateful for her neighbors’ continued support.
“The community’s been great,” she said. “They really have come together to help me and support me. They have been awesome, the whole community has. To know that I have those people behind me, it feels amazing. There’s days that I want to scream, there’s days that I want to give up. But knowing that I have a village behind me, it’s what keeps me going.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
WHAT: Benefit poker run
WHEN: 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 28
WHERE: American Legion Post 391, 207 S. Merrill St., Fortville
Cost is $25 for a single and $15 for a passenger. All proceeds will go to support the family of Zianna Mahoney, 13, who is battling leukemia. The event will include T-shirts, an auction, a 50-50 raffle and live music. Food will be served after the ride, including a six-wing dinner for $5 and eight-wing dinner for $7.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
