HUTCHINSON, Kan. — What happens when a hero needs help? In the case of one of our local emergency responders, you hold a chili feed and silent auction.
That’s what will happen Tuesday night when friends and family of Hutchinson Police Officer Darrell Tossie will gather to raise funds for Tossie’s wife who has a life-threatening condition for which there is no cure.
Kristine Tossie, 54, a former computer class teacher at the Hutchinson Public Library was diagnosed in 2013 with neurosarcoidosis and has been in treatment at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio since early October.
Darrell Tossie has been a Hutchinson Police Officer for the past 15 years and is searching for the proper care facility once she returns to Kansas. But the cost of surgical procedures, traveling to and from hospitals, and medical care continues to be great.
Tuesday’s night’s “Team Kristine Fundraiser” will be held at the Sand Hills Event Center, formerly the Prosperity School at 4601 N. Plum. The event will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be a chili feed, silent auction and country music from Nebraska group, the Emmett Bower band, whose bass player, Troy Johnson, is Kristine Tossie’s brother. Her father, Gregg Johnson, will provide the homemade chili.
Fellow Officers and others in the community have gathered a variety of merchandise and gift certificates for the silent auction from numerous local businesses and individuals. Signed Dallas Cowboys footballs, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers tickets, a storm chasing trip for two including dinner and a Fender Stratocaster Guitar are among the items to be auctioned off.
The disease that Kristine Tossie suffers from involves inflammation in the lymph nodes, lungs, liver and other vital organs that expands into the overall nervous system. In the past, she’s been involved in clinical trials, which seemed to help her pain, but the FDA didn’t approve continuing the experiment and her condition has worsened.
Any free will donations will be accepted at the Event Center Tuesday evening. Families are invited to attend for the chili and entertainment.