By Andy Klotz—
MUNCIE, IN. – Like a lot of 8-year-old boys, Asher Mann loves Minecraft, Roblox and Legos®. He also loves his pet rat, Rattata.
Asher is a pretty resilient kid. Born at just 36 weeks, his first eight days on earth were spent in the infant intensive care unit. Later, he was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis and some bone deformities. Then, last month, another major physical challenge – a brain tumor.
Shortly after that diagnosis, Hank Voss was scrolling his Facebook timeline and noticed a post from Asher’s mother, Andrea Mann, that said Asher was headed into surgery at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. He mentioned that to his daughter, Renee, and that’s all it took for her to spring into action.
Renee is the Junior Class President at Muncie Central High School and knows Asher from church where she volunteered in the children’s room. As soon as she learned of his situation, she knew she wanted to help.
“My mom always says, ‘Be blessed to be a blessing’ when we leave for school every day,” Renee Voss said. “And I think the youth in our community are glad to be a blessing.”
The youth she’s referring to are her Muncie Central Student Council classmates. Together, they sold donuts, bracelets and pencils as a fundraiser to help with the Manns’ medical expenses. To date, they’ve raised $1,255, almost twice as much as they raised last year for Riley.
“Having someone reach out and say, ‘we’re doing this for your family’ was a beautiful reminder of who the youth of Muncie are,” Andrea Mann said. “It was one of the best surprises to know that people we don’t know were willing to give to help our family.”
Asher had a successful surgery March 13. Doctors said the tumor had not spread and was completely removed. He’s expected to leave the hospital and return home this week.
He still has a long road of rehabilitation to relearn how to walk and do other basic activities, but his mom is upbeat about his recovery.
“We see growth every day in his skills and strength,” she said.
Anyone who would like to find out more about supporting Asher or any of the families at Riley Children’s Hospital can contact Susan Miles at smiles@rileykids.org or (317) 759-6951.
About Muncie Community Schools
Serving the local community since 1855, Muncie Community Schools (MCS) educates more than 5,000 students at six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school while also managing several other educational facilities. Through its unique partnership with Ball State University, MCS strives to maximize each student’s potential so he or she can be a positive, productive member of society. Find out more about MCS or Director of Public Education and CEO Lee Ann Kwiatkowski at muncieschools.org.
