Maryville, Tennessee. (Wate) — Even in her absence, Molly Rader’s community has rallied behind her.
Molly Rader is an 11-year-old girl battling a rare immune disease called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Recently, her family took her to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital as her condition worsened. During that time, teachers at Coulter Grove Secondary School organized multiple events to support her family as they continue to battle HLH.
“It’s been a real explosion. I’m so excited to see this community come together and love this family so much,” said Julie Vananda, Molly’s special education teacher.
The event was named “Molly’s MILE” and was aimed at raising money to help with medical expenses for her family.
T-shirts were sold and donations were made to directly support her cause, and despite the inclement weather that day, teachers were happily overwhelmed by the number of people who came out to help.
“On such a bad day, it was sleeting earlier and it’s raining now. So thank you to everyone who came out to support Molly. We love her. and loves all of the kids,” said Larry Beeler, Molly’s TA. She is one of her favorites.
People of all ages dressed up as their favorite princess and ran miles to honor their love for her.
“Molly is in homeroom,” Deborah Heaven said, gesturing to her granddaughter. “They’re good friends and my daughter is her mother and she told me all this, so we thought we’d join in.”
“I’m so excited to be able to go out and support her and her family and help raise money for them,” Molly, 4, said.th Grade teacher April Knuckles.
Molly could feel the love from a far-flung community because her brothers were there too.
“It was fun to FaceTime her and meet all the different princesses that are her friends who were actually dressed up. So she loved it and really loved it,” said Molly’s brother Jackson. Rader said.
“We were so excited. Dad, Mom, and Molly were in Cincinnati, and for us being so far away, it was so nice to have the support from the community and her school. We want to bring him back here soon.’ And that felt like a real blessing to us and we’re so grateful,” said Molly’s sister, Hannah Rader.
To donate to her cause, go here GoFundMe page.
