FRANKLIN
To watch Breelyn Hewett now, you’d never guess she’s endured more than 10 surgeries, all of which have enabled her to walk as smoothly as she does now. At birth, the child, now 2 years old, had a 4-1/2 pound teratoma growing off her tailbone. This caused both hips to be dislocated and the sockets to stop forming.

The tumor was ultimately removed at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk. But the work for the hips had to be done elsewhere.

“No one around here would do them,” Brandy said.

After consultations — including one in South Carolina — the Hewetts got the needed surgery at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.

As one could imagine, though, all that medical aid has come at a price. Brandy Hewett estimates that she and her husband, Scott Hewett, of Black Creek, have accumulated $25,000 to $30,000 in bills and travel expenses; those are just the out-of-pocket expenses.

Thankfully, a former personal connection of support has not only been renewed, but also offered financial assistance through art. This is where Kasey Cosby and her 12-year-old daughter, Madelyn, come into the picture frame.

Kasey said she used to take care of Brandy when she was a teenager at the Windsor Baptist Church’s former childcare center.

“That job was so much fun,” Kasey recalled.

Years passed and they lost touch until she learned of Breelyn’s situation on Facebook, and they started talking again.

The Cosbys started following the postings and praying for Breelyn. When Madelyn found out, she decided to do create art and auction it off as a fundraiser.

“I want to do something for Breelyn,” Madelyn is reported to have said.

“That’s just the way she is,” added Kasey, smiling, about her daughter. “She’s very dedicated.”

This makes her third such project. Back in 2013, for example, the money from Madelyn’s art sales went to help a family friend whose home was robbed while she was in a hospital for cancer treatment.

This year’s event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Sedley Baptist Church. The silent auction ends at 2:45 p.m.

“The more we do, the easier it gets to organize and get better results,” Kasey said.

Now a seventh-grader at Southampton Middle School, Madelyn began her artistic path by drawing when she was 4 years old.

“I play with other mediums,” she said, adding that acrylics are a favorite now, especially since they clean up so well.

During the interview with the adults, Madelyn played with Breelyn, absorbed in her own style of painting or playing with any toys at hand.

“She still struggles with jumping and steps,” said Brandy watching as the two played.

The Hewetts just last week week had gotten back from Philadelphia, and it could be three to six months before a return trip for X-rays is needed. The teratoma is non-cancerous, but is being watched as if it were, just as a precaution.