Ailing Parkersburg girl opens lemonade stand for her own treat
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PARKERSBURG -- Cold drinks on a hot day taste a little bit better when they come from a 5-year-old girl who wants to raise money to buy herself a toy after undergoing surgery.
RayLee Townsend saw a Kool-Aid stand at a yard sale and an idea sparked: she was going to sell Kool-Aid and lemonade to raise money to buy herself something nice after her surgery today to remove a mass from her hip.
"She thought of it by herself," RayLee's mother Joan Townsend said.
About two weeks ago, RayLee was hospitalized with lyme disease after being bitten by a deer tick.
While she was undergoing tests, they found a mass on her hip. They then went to Morgantown for a follow up and the doctors said the mass was so large it fractured her hip bone.
The mass is also sitting on top of a growth plate which could have resulted in growth abnormalities if not treated.
During today's surgery, they will biopsy the mass and test it for signs of cancer and if those results are negative, they will remove the whole mass.
The doctors said just with her walking on it, the whole bone could break.
Townsend said she first noticed RayLee walking with a limp when she was about 4-years old, but her doctors didn't think it was an issue.
"People said it was fine and that it was just her age. She's always favored one leg more than the other," Townsend said.
Despite her diagnosis, RayLee is still a happy, carefree child.
"She's still got just the regular, hyper, 5-year-old attitude. It's hard to make her sit down and stay still. She wants to act like a normal 5-year-old," Townsend said.
With the money from her drink stand, RayLee wants to buy a pool or a power wheel car.
"We're just grateful that she has such a large community that's willing to come down and support her," Townsend said. "I've never seen her smile so big before even though it was really hot yesterday."
RayLee said after her surgery she wants to set up her drink stand again.
With the COVID-19 restrictions at the hospitals, Townsend said she is the only one who is allowed to be in the hospital with RayLee when she undergoes her surgery.
RayLee will stay in the hospital for a day or two and will go through physical therapy afterward.
Townsend said all they ask for is prayers from the community for a smooth surgery and recovery.
Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.