July 6 declared ‘Team Reed’ Day in Corbin

July 6 has been declared “Team Reed” Day in Corbin and the Corbin Kiwanis Club is hosting a prayer gathering and balloon release for the man of the hour, six-year-old Reed Elliott.

Kiwanis member Heather Barrineau said Reed, son of fellow Kiwanian Larietta Elliott and her husband, Bill, is facing a potential second battle with cancer as his family awaits the diagnosis on four spots found last week.

In an effort to support the family, the Kiwanis have organized the event to be held at 6:30 p.m. at Campbell Field in Corbin.

The club will be preselling “Team Reed Day” t-shirts.

Barrineau said the goal is to have as many people as possible purchase the shirts and wear them to the event.

Bench Childers, a Corbin High School student who is licensed to fly drone aircraft, will be on hand with his drone to photograph the crowd and the balloon release from the air.

Barrineau said the family has declined to accept monetary donations. However, they are agreeable that donations be made to Ronald McDonald House, the Kentucky Organ Donation Foundation and Childhood Cancer Awareness Foundation, which is where the proceeds from the event will be distributed.

Ronald McDonald House provides a place for families to stay while their children are receiving treatment at Children’s Hospital.

“I would love to see us raise $10,000,” Barrineau said.

Reed suffered complications during birth that damaged his kidneys. As a result, when he was two years old, he received a kidney from his father and had been taking anti-rejection medication.

Barrineau said one of the potential side effects of the medication was that it might cause cancer.

“Six to eight months ago, they took Reed for what they thought was going to be a normal checkup,” Barrineau said. “They found his entire abdomen and chest cavity filled with cancer.”

Reed stopped the anti-rejection medication and began three months of chemotherapy at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

“So far, all tests are showing that he is not rejecting the kidney,” Barrineau said.

While the new spots have been determined not to be cancerous, Barrineau said kidney and lung biopsies have been performed to determine the cause.

“Doctors are uncertain what the spots are,” Barrineau said.

More information about the event is available on Facebook by searching for “Team Reed Day.”