Friends and strangers rally to help a 13-year-old Wisconsin boy after his latest diagnosis, lymphoma

Dave Kallmann | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Charlie Knuth has had a rough 13 years.

Abandoned at birth and adopted, the Darboy teen has suffered for his whole life with a rare, incurable genetic disorder that makes his skin easily blister and tear. Now he has lymphoma, a cancer affecting the immune system.

But Charlie also has a lot of friends in the stock-car racing community, many of whom he's never even met.

On Saturday, Andy Monday, a champion at Wisconsin International Raceway in nearby Kaukauna, launched an auction on Facebook for a door panel from his car and challenged others to do the same. He hoped to raise $1,000 for the Knuth family.

By 8 a.m. Monday, bids and donations topped $10,000.

(Update: By the end of bidding for most of the items on New Year's Day, more than 100 teams and drivers were involved, generating $60,671 in bids, matches and other donations, Monday said.)

“We’re all competitors, we all wrench on our cars, we all want to win and we go out there and compete,” Monday said, “… but when it comes to giving back, helping people in the community, it really shows the strength and power of everybody working together, how they can give back.”

Charlie’s story is widely known in the Fox Valley.

He suffers from epidermolysis bullosa, a painful condition that has necessitated bone marrow and stem cell transplants. Then at the beginning of December he was diagnosed with lymphoma.

Since Wednesday he and his parents, Trisha and Kevin, and sister Meili – who was adopted from China and also has EB – have been in Minneapolis for tests at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital. By the end of the week they will know more details about his condition and prognosis, his mother said.

Although Charlie’s health problems don't allow him to go to races, he and his story are familiar to the Wisconsin International Raceway through Darboy Corner Store owner Patti Rodencal, who knows the Knuths and who sponsors numerous racers.

“They know who Charlie is from our community, and they’ve really just always wanted to help him,” Trisha Knuth said. “He got dealt a horrible hand in life. … People just kind of fell in love with him because he’s a really cool kid.”

More than 30 drivers and teams have gotten involved, and more have committed. In addition to the individual bids, a handful of people and businesses have offered to match or add on to others’ bids.

A list of those involved can be found on Monday’s Facebook page. Bids are made by commenting on individual posts from each driver.

Many of the drivers participating in the fundraiser race regularly at Wisconsin International Raceway, which is about a mile from the Knuths’ home. Among the others are Ty Majeski, the racer from Seymour who will compete full time in NASCAR trucks next year, and Rich Bickle, an Edgerton native who raced in NASCAR from 1989-2005, both past winners at the track.

By noon Monday, doors being auctioned included panels from several dirt late models and Brian Vickers’ car from the 2008 Bud Shootout NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway.

“Maybe we (all) haven’t always got along the greatest at the track, but everybody coming together for a cause like this and power in numbers, giving back, it’s really amazing,” Monday said. “Totally blown away.”

Bids are expected to close Jan. 1, Monday said, but given the way the auction has taken off, the racers’ fundraiser may continue.