Juan Diego alumni hockey team helps a teammate

Photo courtesy of Karen Cooley

+ Enlarge

Sean Cushing (left), Colby Cooley, and Andy Hill stop for a moment following an ice hockey game during the 2008-2009 Juan Diego Catholic High School ice hockey season and before Andy was struck with an illness.

SALT LAKE CITY — "We are so proud of the community who came together to give of themselves and to support a friend and fellow teammate, and sometimes a competitor, who needed their help," said Karen Cooley.

Cooley is the mother of Colby Cooley, who organized the Andy Hill benefit hockey game.

The Andy Hill Alumni Benefit Hockey Game was played Aug. 19, at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex, 650 Guardsman Way. This exhibition match by the Juan Diego Catholic High School Alumni was a benefit for Hill who was suffering from an allergic reaction to a common medication, which caused burns on over 90 percent of his body. This confined him to the University of Utah Burn Unit.

"Andy is a walking miracle and doing better than anyone, including the doctors, ever believed possible," said Karen. "Andy’s nurse told me that miracles happened, and he believes that Andy is doing so amazingly well because of the wonderful person he is, and also because of the many prayers that came pouring out toward Andy from the moment the word got out about him," said Karen.

About 1,300 people came to support Andy and the Hill family and helped raise $16,000 for their medical expenses.

"We are so excited about the money we raised and the success of this night," said Karen. "We are so proud of the community for coming together to give of themselves and support a friend, a fellow teammate. Andy is a great person both inside and out. He befriends everyone he meets.

"I will never forget the look on Colby’s face and that tears the welled up in his eyes when he received the phone call about Andy’s illness," said Karen. "He was at a loss and simply needed somewhere to channel his grief and worry. He knew the cost of Andy’s hospital stay would be astronomical.

"We lost my oldest son when his jeep rolled over and he was killed, and Colby knew the cost of a 24-hour stay in ICU, and he saw first hand how the bills hurt our family. So he devised the idea to have a benefit hockey game for Andy and his family."

Colby called his friends and he put the word out that a meeting would take place that night at Barnes and Noble Book. Sean Cuching, Thomas Seibert, Adam Day, Robert Grance, Alex Holloran, and Justine Davis, all Juan Diego Class of 2009 graduates, met that evening and began to formulate the plans for this event.

"They built a team using Facebook, making phone calls, contacting business associates, and had fellow teammates from the Juan Diego Catholic High School Ice Hockey Team go to every business nearby asking for donations and gift cards and anything they could get to put into silent auction gift baskets," said Karen.

"We had the unwavering support of the Juan Diego School community," said Karen. "The administration, the student body, the families, all showed their support for our cause.

"We could not have made this happen without help from Jeff Neathery and his family, Alphagraphics, Smith’s Food King, Mike Druce at General Dist., Patti Stith at Citadel Broadcasting, The Utah High School Hockey Association and president, all our fellow high school hockey teams across the state that jumped in to help, the University of Utah Hockey team, the Grizzlies Hockey team, and of course, all the help from Andy’s family and friends who came running to help," said Karen.

"This has been an unbelievable experience for all of us and we are honored to have been a part of it," said Karen. "We look forward to carrying on this event annually and the proceeds will henceforth be donated to the University of Utah Burn Unit. We look forward to being able to continue to help as well as to keeping this great group of alumni coming together each year with the camaraderie and fun that we so enjoyed at this event.

"If you had been on Facebook, MySpace and twitter you would not have believed the out pouring of love and prayers being sent Andy’s way," said Karen. "It is a tribute to Andy for being the wonderful person and friend that he is that everyone from all ages, and walks of life kept him in their thoughts and prayers.

"The nurse also told me that no one has ever been burned by medication as bad as Andy was burned and done so well," said Karen. "He is a walking miracle!"

Karen said it is overwhelming how the young people came running to help and pray for Andy. It is a tribute to the parents, churches and schools that our young people are being taught to have compassion and to turn to prayer when times are tough.

"We really could not be more proud of everyone involved," said Karen. "Andy’s family would like to thank everyone involved and everyone who helped in any way, but most of all for all the love and prayers that came Andy’s way all the way through this terrible time in Andy’s life.

"They would like to send a special thank you to the Burn Unit at the University of Utah for all they did for Andy and for all they do for all the victims of burns every day. They are an amazing group that make miracles happen every day."

Donations are being accepted through the Wells Fargo Bank for "The Andy Hill Benefit Donation Fund".