Zaphod Cooper, Darlene Robinson introduced as poster child, adult for 52nd annual Ernie Blankenship Radio-Telethon

The poster child and poster adult for the 52nd annual Ernie Blankenship Radio-Telethon were introduced by representatives of the Highland County Society for Children and Adults Feb. 28 at the Hillsboro First State Bank branch, as First State is this year’s event sponsor and host.

Zaphod Cooper of Leesburg has been named the 2024 poster child, and Darlene Robinson of Hillsboro is the 2024 poster adult. They attended the Feb. 28 meet and greet, along with Cooper’s mother, Dominique Page, and her boyfriend, Wyatt Durbin; and Robinson’s daughter, Ezabella, as well as Robinson’s sister and nephew.

HCSCA secretaries Patty Day and Karen Miller, and HCSCA board member and event emcee Herb Day, attended on behalf of the Society. 

The annual telethon is conducted by the Hillsboro and Greenfield Rotary Clubs for the benefit of the Highland County Society for Children and Adults. This year’s event is set for Wednesday, March 27 from 7-9 p.m., with the Hillsboro Rotary Club broadcast taking place at the Hillsboro Orpheum and the Greenfield Rotary Club event being broadcast from the McClain High School studio.

The telethon is the major fundraiser for the HCSCA, which helps qualifying adults and children in Highland County with a number of medical needs, including treatment, transportation, equipment, medication and other health care devices.

Amy Hamilton of First State Bank told the group that the bank is looking forward to hosting this year’s telethon, as they joined the rotation of banks hosting the event for the first time in 2020. Shortly after plans were announced for the March 2020 telethon, the event was postponed and later rescheduled for June as a virtual fundraiser, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

President/Chief Executive Officer Michael Pell, who was unable to attend the meeting Wednesday, also spoke about the significance of hosting the 2024 telethon in a comment submitted to The Highland County Press.

“At First State Bank, we believe that when we build up our communities, we can make a lifelong difference,” Pell said. “That’s why we are excited to partner with the society and host this year’s telethon. Their mission of helping local people in Highland County is one that hits home for us.”

Herb Day thanked the bank for their ongoing support.

“In addition to hosting the event this year for the Rotary Clubs, they also are a significant contributor to the funds,” Day said. “I’ve never seen any communities that support an organization like Highland County has supported the Society for Children and Adults. 

“It is a lot of people working together for everybody, so it's all a partnership, and we appreciate First State Bank for doing this.”

Other members of the First State Bank staff, including Julia Dodds, Lauren Hamilton, Ashlee Mattingly, Tara Pendell, Meghan Roush, Diana Setty, Bryan Smith and Ellie Zint, were on hand to meet Cooper, Robinson and their families and to hear their stories.

Cooper is 5 and was born with multiple diagnoses, including Down syndrome and congenital heart disease, according to his mother. He was later also diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

“While I was pregnant with him, I was recommended to have an amniocentesis to give a definite answer to whether he may have Down syndrome, but I declined because honestly, it didn’t make a difference to me whether he had it or not,” Page said. “When he was born, it was realized he not only had Down syndrome, but also a severe congenital heart disease, in which there is a large hole in the tissue that separates the left and right sides of his heart. At just 6 months old, he underwent open heart surgery to minimize the hole, and now it is only a minor leak. We do annual echoes [echocardiograms] and EKGs [electrocardiograms] to monitor his heart disease.

“A few years ago, as Zaphod grew, further challenges emerged, including a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, discovered from his struggle to gain weight.”

Today, Cooper is a happy and healthy preschool student, although Page said he has “social and dietary struggles, such as being unable to speak and having difficulty eating solid foods.” That is where the Society has been able to help.

After Cooper was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, Page said she contacted the Society for help purchasing “additional formula to help him grow and gain more weight.” Now, Cooper drinks PediaSure “to supplement his nutrition, but this too, proved too expensive for our family to afford on our own,” his mom said.

“Thankfully, the Society for Children and Adults came through for us once again by providing PediaSure to Zaphod every month, enabling his growth and development through his initial years of school,” Page said. “Otherwise, we’d be in a tough situation.

“They help pay monthly for his PediaSure. He goes through two of those cases a month, and it gets pretty pricey.” 

Robinson is a 32-year-old mother of two who is currently being treated for a brain tumor.

According to Patty Day, Robinson first reached out to the Society for help in October 2022, after she was diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension causing migraines and seizures. 

“The treatment plan was to keep the intracranial hypertension controlled, which would reduce migraines and of course seizure activity,” Day said. “The treatments to help control intracranial hypertension were to be done at the Cleveland Clinic Neurology Institute. The treatments involved many hours of IV drug infusions and periodic spinal tabs to reduce spinal fluid levels. 

“Darlene would be required to spend the night because the treatments required that she be assessed the following day to receive additional drugs and to make sure the treatment had been effective in reducing the intracranial pressure.”

The HCSCA helped pay for Robinson’s stay in Cleveland while she sought treatment for her initial diagnosis. Because the treatments were outpatient procedures, she had to stay in an adjacent hotel.

After Robinson suffered a stroke in April 2023, doctors discovered a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor — a glioblastoma — and Robinson began chemotherapy until November. 

“She made the decision to take a break so she would be able to have quality time during the holidays with her two children and family,” Day said.

In January 2024, Robinson resumed treatment, with her tumor progressing to a Grade II size, according to Day. Current plans are for Robinson to use two different drugs, Temozolomide (a chemotherapy drug) and Avastin (which Day said is a “tumor-starving therapy” drug), while she is also expected to undergo surgery.

“Surgery to remove the brain tumor is the goal, and this could happen within the next few days to a month from now, depending on the response to the two medications,” Day said.

With Robinson continuing to balance numerous medical appointments, the Society is continuing to help, including by providing gas vouchers.

“As the treating doctors have stated, ‘Darlene has a tough soul and is so strong and has the very strongest mind set to accomplish anything she sets her mind to,’” Day said. “The Society has assisted Darlene in multiple ways throughout her journey since October 2022, and the Society will continue to assist her.”

Robinson also is known for her positive outlook, Day said, which she shared with the crowd on Wednesday despite still recovering from her latest treatment session the previous day.

“Everything is going to work out,” Robinson said. “I’m waiting for surgery. If it wasn’t for the Highland County Society, I wouldn’t be able to make these appointments, so I couldn’t thank you guys enough for everything you do for me and my family.

“I keep the faith that it’s all going to be OK.” 

To help support local individuals like Cooper, Robinson and their families, donations will be accepted during this year’s telethon. The event will also include a silent auction, with items to be announced later this month.

The March 27 telethon will be broadcast live on the local community access channel 13 of the Spectrum Cable System, on WSRW 101.5 FM, WSRW AM 1590, iHeart Radio, WVNU Radio 97.5 and will be livestreamed via the Society’s website, hicoso.org and on tech-t.com. Terry Mikkelsen, owner of Tech-t.com, will again provide the equipment for the broadcast and livestream.

Rotarians at both locations will take pledges during the telethon by telephone or in person. Pledges can be made during the radio-telethon by calling (937) 402-5557 in Hillsboro or (937) 981-7731 in Greenfield.

You can make a donation at any time online at hicoso.org or the Society’s Facebook, or checks payable to HCSCA can be dropped off at any local bank or mailed to the Society at P.O. Box 972, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133.

Ahead of the telethon, the community is also encouraged to attend the Hillsboro Rotary Club’s 18th annual chili supper and dessert auction fundraiser, set for Tuesday, March 12 from 5-7 p.m. at the Hillsboro VFW Post 9094. 

Tickets for the chili supper will be $6 at the door and $5 in advance and may be purchased from Rotary members and at First State Bank. All proceeds from the Chili Supper are donated to the Radio-Telethon.

(Editor’s note: Thank you to Judge Rocky Coss, Patty Day and Lauren Hamilton for their contributions to this article.) 

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