A8
FRIDAY
October 1, 2021
Fall Sports
SeasideSignal.com
Tsunami Skippers leaping into a new season VALIANTS
EDGE SEASIDE
BOYS SOCCER
By GARY HENLEY
The Astorian
The rope jumpers are back and look-
ing to jump some rope later this year, as
the Tsunami Skippers begin tryouts for
the winter season.
Hopefully the Skippers will be jump-
ing in front of an audience this season,
as much of 2020 was wiped out by the
coronavirus.
“Tryouts are in December, and the
season starts in January,” said Stacey
Dundas, the Skippers’ coach. The team
is hoping to qualify for nationals in Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, in June.
The Tsunami Skippers’ jump rope
team was founded in 2006 by Dun-
das and Shannon Carey, “to give kids
an alternative sport in Clatsop County,”
states the team’s website. “A sport that
would help young people learn team-
work, the benefi ts of exercise, self-con-
fi dence and respect for others.”
Since then, the Skippers have com-
peted all over the country, taking part in
the World Jump Rope championships
in Washington, D.C., in 2012 and in
Stokke, Norway, in 2019.
They also competed in the USA Jump
Rope Nationals in Long Beach, Cali-
fornia, in 2014, and the Pan American
The Astorian
The Tsunami Skippers have performed at halftimes, parades and schools all over
Oregon and Washington state.
Championships in Orlando, Florida, in
2016.
In addition, the Skippers are always
on call to perform at halftime during bas-
ketball season, where the jumpers have
performed for the Portland Trail Blaz-
ers and the Harlem Globetrotters, while
also entertaining crowds by taking part
in parades and school assemblies in Ore-
gon and Washington state.
Interested in becoming a Tsunami
Skipper, booking the group for a perfor-
mance or sponsoring the team? Check
the Tsunami Skippers’ website, tsunami-
skippers.com, email tsunamiskippers@
hotmail.com or call 503-440-0884.
Valley Catholic domi-
nated every statistical cat-
egory, but ended up hold-
ing on for a slim 2-1 win
over Seaside in a Cow-
apa League boys soccer
game Saturday afternoon
in Beaverton.
The Valiants fi nished
with 14 shots on goal and
six corner kick opportu-
nities, but only had two
goals to show for it.
Valley Catholic scored
on a breakaway in the
26th minute of the fi rst
half for a 1-0 lead at the
break.
A well-placed crossing
pass resulted in a second
goal 11:38 into the second
half to give the Valiants a
seemingly safe 2-0 lead.
But the Gulls scored
on their only shot attempt
of the second half, with a
long shot in the 63rd min-
ute fi nding the back of the
net.
The Valiants had six
shot-on-goal
attempts
the remainder of the half,
but Seaside keeper Riley
Wunderlich made several
big saves.
Valley
Catholic
improves to 3-1-2 overall,
1-0 in league play, while
the Gulls drop to 1-3-1,
0-1 in league.
The Gulls closed out
their nonleague schedule
with a 2-1 win last Tuesday
night at Yamhill-Carlton.
In girls soccer action,
Seaside lost 0-2 at Val-
ley Catholic on Saturday
and won 3-0 at Rainier on
Tuesday.
Kashton: Days since surgery have been a huge rollercoaster
Continued from Page A1
“She told us she wanted to
be ‘overly cautious’ and get
an ultrasound to make sure
we were in the clear,” Chil-
dress said.
Worst day
Then came the couple’s
worst day.
“I noticed Kashton act-
ing strangely, lethargic in a
way, and then (he) projec-
tile vomited,” Childress said.
“A little time passed when I
noticed the quietness. None
of his normal grunty breath-
ing. None of his random star-
tled twitching. I unwrapped
him to fi nd him pale, limp
and unresponsive.
“I screamed for Doc,
had someone call 911, and
worked endlessly to bring
him back. Thanks to Doc’s
quick reaction, we arrived at
the local hospital four min-
utes before the ambulance
even got to the shop and
by some miracle Kashton
started breathing as soon as
we arrived.”
Kashton was transferred
from Providence Seaside
Hospital to Providence St.
Vincent’s in Portland, where
he was monitored and some
tests were done.
They were told by hospi-
tal staff that what happened
to their son was unexplain-
able and he was fi ne, Chil-
dress said.
Terrifi ed of a recurrence,
they realized they were going
to have to advocate and fi ght
for answers.
They invested heavily
to keep Kashton monitored
at all times and alert them
if he stopped breathing or
his heart rate was abnormal,
Childress said.
“Doc and I have spent
every day together since the
fi rst day he stopped breath-
ing fearing that it may hap-
pen again — and it did, an
overall of fi ve times in three
months,” she said.
They
searched
for
answers, doing research,
joining groups, reading
forums and seeking second
and third opinions.
An ultrasound showed
abnormalities to Kashton’s
spinal cord.
“This meant we had to
put our not even 8-week-
old under anesthesia for
an MRI,” Childress said.
“Handing our baby over to
that doctor was one of the
hardest things we’ve done
and the MRI was the lon-
gest 45 minutes we have
experienced.”
At Randall Children’s
Hospital at Legacy Eman-
Doc Shaw and Samantha Childress.
uel Medical Center in Port-
land, they found Dr. Monica
Wehby, someone “who not
only saw what they saw, but
knew how to fi x it,” Chil-
dress said.
This month, Wehby rec-
ommended surgery — but
she was moving to Indianap-
olis to be closer to family.
Shaw and Childress fol-
lowed their doctor’s trail.
Kashton’s
worsening
symptoms, including severe
constipation, hyperrefl exia,
hip spasticity and bladder
retention issues, made the
surgery even more urgent.
During surgery, doctors
make a small incision in the
back and another small inci-
sion to the muscle, Shaw
said. They make another
incision through the spi-
nal canal to clip the tethered
cord and relieve the pressure
on the back, and hopefully
stop any long-term eff ects.
The recuperation time is
up to Kashton and how he
tolerates pain, anesthesia
and medications, Childress
said.
“It has been a struggle to
travel, even being in a motor
home,” she said.
Kashton was in the car
seat about eight to 10 hours
a day. “We have had to
stop because of meltdowns
because we don’t want him
to be suff ering.”
Despite his symptoms,
Kashton is “always happy,
always smiling,” Shaw said.
“Out of nowhere people stop
and say our baby looks like
an angel from heaven. When
he comes to the shop he is
just the happiest little guy.”
‘Day-and-night eff ort’
During all this, Chil-
dress and Shaw struggled to
maintain operations at Doc’s
Auto Repair, their business
in Seaside.
“It was just super hard
on us because we want to
be there for our community,
but we haven’t been,” Shaw
said.
When one of their top
auto techs was out sick, “it
was a snowball eff ect for our
customers,” Shaw said. “We
love our business and we’ve
tried really hard to make it
great for the community.
And since we’ve been gone
it’s been diffi cult. When they
come to Doc’s Auto Repair
everybody’s looking for
Doc.
“We’ve just been kind of
out of the loop for things for
several months because it
was a day-and-night eff ort
by both of us.”
A GoFundMe page,
“Cure for Kashton,” invites
people to help the family
with medical costs.
Their fi rst estimate for the
surgery was $80,000, Shaw
said. That was later revised
upward to $134,000. Added
to that are travel costs from
driving across the country.
“It’s been devastating on
us,” Shaw said. “It’s been
devastating fi nancially. We
Dr. Monica Wehby after surgery with baby Kashton.
don’t know how we’re going
to get through this, but we
will manage. We’ll do what-
ever we’ve got to do. We’ll
sell everything we have.
“I didn’t expect anybody
would even come to our side,
to be honest with you. The
community has really been
stepping up. It’s taken me
to my knees more than once
on this trip how many peo-
ple have just reached out. I
just have to say ‘thanks.’ It’s
been amazing.”
The days since surgery
have been a huge roller
coaster, Childress said, but
overall, “Kashton is doing
amazing.” The family will
spend a few more days in
Indianapolis to make sure
he’s ready for the trek home,
she added.
The Bruce’s Family will be
cheering on the Gulls this Fall!
Best of Luck
this Season!
B OB M C E WAN
C ONSTRUCTION , INC .
CCB# 205283
GO
GULLS!
We hope the season is a sweet one!
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over 58 years!
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