Family inspires cancer benefit

Cooper Herman, an outgoing and energetic 1-year-old by all accounts, began complaining of neck pain in May 2009 while he played.

His parents worked until August to get a doctor to order an MRI.

After the results came back, Cooper was rushed into a 12-hour surgery to remove a golf-ball-sized tumor from the base of his brain.

Saturday’s “Rockin’ Run & Family Fun” in Chapel Hill will include games, a 5k fun-run, food, drinks and live music to raise money for Cooper and other families with children battling cancer.

While the 5k race will be timed for athletes, the emphasis is on fun, event spokesman Mark Sherburne said.

“The 5k race is a family-fun race, in that kids of all ages are welcome to attend,” Sherburne said. “They can decorate their bikes or doodle on their scooters or skateboards.”

After the race, former UNC basketball star Eric Montross will emcee the rest of the evening.

Proceeds will go to Super Cooper’s Little Red Wagon Foundation, named for Cooper.

His parents, Justin and Elise Herman, created the foundation in December with strong support from friends after meeting other families in waiting rooms and hospitals.

“We ran into families at Duke who hadn’t eaten in three days and couldn’t afford a funeral for their child who’d just died,” Elise Herman said.

In addition to medical bills, travel costs can place additional strain on families.

“The first thing you notice when you visit a children’s hospital is there are a lot of children in their rooms without a parent, and the first assumption you make is: bad parents,” said event chairwoman Jennifer Thompson, who is a close friend of the Hermans.

“The reality is so many parents have to choose between working and being able to pay for that child to be in the hospital, and being with their child.”

The foundation funds individual families, along with other organizations that offer affordable transportation and housing to patients’ families, Herman said.

To raise money, the Hermans and friends began selling “Super Cooper’s Pit Crew” support wristbands, Thompson said.

“We probably raised $10,000 selling those bands, which I thought was pretty amazing.”

In June 2010, the foundation raised more than $1,000 with a balloon launch as an early birthday celebration for Cooper, Sherburne said. Supporters bought around 150 biodegradable helium balloons, tied messages to them and launched them in unison after a countdown.

Cooper has had three major surgeries and numerous radiation treatments during the past year, but continues to fight and stay positive, Elise Herman said.

“Cooper is a happy, happy, happy 3-year-old. Full of energy, smile on his face, and has just been a brave trooper through all of this,” Thompson said.

“His strength is the thing that touches me the most.”

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