Hyundai donates $100,000 for Marshfield Clinic pediatric projects Grant supports cancer research

MARSHFIELD -- Three years ago, Heather Adler received news no parent ever wants -- or expects -- to hear: Her daughter had cancer.
Abigail Adler was 4 years old when her parents took her to the doctor to check on what they thought was a lazy eye. It turned out the left eye had a tumor and needed to be removed.
"We thought, 'Why our child?'" Heather Adler said.
Fortunately for the Marshfield family, the cancer didn't spread, and it went into remission after eight months of treatment. Abigail now has a prosthetic eye, but she has handled it all with optimism and "high spirits," her mother said.
"We need to be aware of, no matter what age, children can get cancer," Heather Adler said. "We need to raise more awareness."
To that end, Hyundai Hope on Wheels, a joint effort of Hyundai Motor America and its more than 800 dealers nationwide, announced a $100,000 grant Friday to the Marshfield Clinic for childhood cancer research.
The grant is part of $7.1 million Hyundai is donating this month to 71 pediatric cancer research projects and groups nationwide. September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
By the end of 2011, Hyundai Hope on Wheels will have committed $43 million in donations to pediatric cancer research since its inception in 1998.
Part of the grant to the Clinic came from regional Hyundai dealers' sales.
"Every time a car is sold, a portion goes to Hope on Wheels," said Don Scaffidi, owner of Scaffidi Hyundai in Stevens Point. "It's wonderful -- this money will hopefully go toward finding a cure (for cancer)."
The funds also will be used to foster communication and teach coping skills to patients and families, said Dr. Michael McManus, a pediatric physician at the Clinic. Doctors will work with patients both in-person and through videoconferencing.
"It's a privilege for our oncology team here at the Marshfield Clinic to care for these children and watch them grow up," McManus said during a press conference about the grant.
Abigail and several other cancer survivors attended the press conference, and afterward dipped their hands in paint and placed their imprints together on a poster.
"These children and their loved ones have gone through so much and are true heroes," said Dr. Karl Ulrich, Clinic president and CEO.

Abigail Adler, 6, with help from Sarah Long, a post-doctoral fellow in pediatric psychology, puts her handprint on a poster Friday after the Hyundai Hope on Wheels grant check presentation at the Marshfield Clinic. / (Laura Schmitt/For the Wausau Daily Herald)