Benefit for Trent Pierce

Benefit for Trent Pierce

Trenton Pierce with Dan Aldrich, owner of Aldrich Aerial Photography, who generously donated a 24”x36” print on canvas for the Oct. 10th fundraiser.

In 2015, Trenton Pierce - currently a fifth-grader at Ellicottville Central School - was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a fatal disorder with no present cure. Amidst increasing hospital visits and treatment costs over the last few years, Trenton will soon need full assistance of an electric wheelchair, which has made it close to impossible for his family to support his condition. 

The addition of a wheelchair will require Trenton’s parents to look at new housing options, as their current home is not built to accommodate his needs. Despite qualifying for community relief programs that would aid in their search for a solution, the family has been unsuccessful. In hopes of securing an all-accessible unit to partner their home, which is priced at $100,000, the Pierce family is organizing a raffle-based auction to raise funds for an initial down payment. 

Due to DMD’s unforgiving nature, which eats away skeletal, heart and lung muscles, Trenton, who enjoys spending his spare time with family and dreams of becoming an inventor, is gradually losing his ability to do things such as climb up the stairs and bathe on his own. While his manual wheelchair helps him maneuver his way around school and other places, the physical demand on his body is taking a toll. An electric-operated wheelchair will allow him to move with ease but creates a problem for his current housing situation. 

Apart from the increased need for space demanded by a wheelchair inside the house, Trenton also broke his leg a year ago, which added to the strain of his parents, who are also his caregivers. 

“It is very important to find a new place for Trent,” Trenton’s grandmother, Joanie Weichmann said. “Right now, his dad has to lift him in and out of the bathtub, and he has back problems. They have to carry him around in his wheelchair in a small house and it is just so hard, it’s very hard for him to get around.”   

Shortly after being diagnosed with DMD at the age of six, Trenton began undertaking treatments that are currently in development stages. In addition to regular doctor-office visits, Trenton is prescribed daily steroids which have made him immunosuppressed. Due to their side-effects, Trenton has gained weight, which regularly makes him stress. While medical groups for supporting mental health correlated to disorders exist, the number of experts available in the field are not widely available. 

Despite DMD’s drastic effect on his physical and mental aspects of life, Trenton continues to strive for success in school and remains cheerful on a daily basis. His condition, which impacts 1 of every 3,500 boys in his age group, does not have a timeframe of progression, but historically calls for a need of a wheelchair by the age of 13. 

While Trenton nears the age of 12, he has chosen to focus on the help of his family, instead of the setbacks. 

“It’s hard knowing you have a disorder, but it's harder to know you never will be able to do things other boys are doing,” Weichmann said. “But to tell you the truth, he doesn’t let it bother him. That boy has such a good heart, 99% of the time he is cheerful.”

The Pierce family began making efforts toward a suitable home solution for Trenton in 2019 when they launched a GoFundMe page, which helped them raise more than $4,000. This year, they are hoping to receive the backing from the same community that helped kickstart their wish to support Trenton. 

A Drive-up Chinese Auction, Chicken BBQ and Bake Sale to help Trenton’s family is scheduled to take place in the parking lot of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 6360 Route 242, Ellicottville, on Saturday, Oct. 10th from noon-5:00pm. Raffles will be offered at four different price points accompanied by food, all under COVID-19 safety measures. All proceeds will go towards a downpayment on a wheelchair accessible new mobile home for Trenton and his family. For more information or to view raffles prizes (over 80 baskets have been donated so far!), search “Drive up Chinese Auction and Chicken BBQ” on Facebook Events.