Operation Gracyn is successful through Mcdevitt’s efforts

Written by Courtney Harrison, Copy Editor

The bar on the homepage is nearly filled, and enough donations have almost been made. Gracyn has almost met her goal, and Jennifer Mcdevitt and The OBand helped to make that possible.

Operation Gracyn’s goal is to raise money for four-year-old Gracyn Rhodes, who was diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. The SDR surgery, one meant specifically for Cerebral Palsy, costs over $40,000.

In an attempt to raise the funds, a donation concert was held at The Orchard Church on Sunday, Sept. 27. Among those who performed was the OBand, of which Mcdevitt is a member.

This is not, however, the only connection Mcdevitt has to Gracyn Rhodes.

“When I was still teaching pre-k at Next Generation Childcare, I taught Gracyn’s brother,” she said. “I actually got an opportunity to work with Gracyn, who was really little then. She’d try to walk but couldn’t, because her legs would always start to cross. But she’d always try again.”

Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy is the most common Cerebral Palsy. It is caused when the outer layer of the brain is damaged. The affect of it is increased tension in the muscles. Because Gracyn Rhodes was born prematurely, the nerves in her brain were very delicate. For some unknown reason she had bleeding in her brain, damaging those nerves. Her condition causes her muscles to tighten too often, affecting her motor skills.

Inspiration was among the goals Mcdevitt hoped their band could achieve during the concert at Orchard, other than the obvious raising money for Gracyn. “Our ultimate goal would be to meet her at $18,000,” she said. “We’d also love if people who don’t normally turn to God would open up and consider a relationship with him.”

Although they did not meet their goal of $18,000, the concert managed to raise $7,700. Mcdevitt estimates that approximately 200 people were in attendance.

“I think we did great,” Mcdevitt said. “It was a lot of fun, and we had no major problems.”

Along with the OBand, the youth band from Orchard, The Porch Band, performed and so did the Walton Career Academy chorus. The pastor from the church the family attends got up and spoke about the family as well.

“Gracyn is going to have her surgery around October,” Mcdevitt said, “and if all goes well, she should be up and running by Christmas.”
In attendance to the concert were the Rhodes, and Mcdevitt said that Gracyn was having a blast, not letting her disability stand in her way.

“We could all learn from her,” Mcdevitt said, “and her gift of determination.”