Donations help save family's house

Cody Phillips is no longer granting photographs.

One week after his chubby face appeared on the front page of the Southeast Missourian, the 3-year-old Cody won't even let his parents take a snapshot. Cody has decided he has had enough of children and grown-ups pointing and whispering, "That's the kid." He acts as though he's fed up with the reknown. But his mother knows better.

"He just grins and buries his face in my leg," mother Angela Phillips said. "He acts shy, but he loves the attention."

Cody's mother doesn't mind the attention either. In fact, it has saved her Morley, Mo., home.

Eight days ago, the Southeast Missourian ran a story explaining that Cody had been diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disease. Beneath the weight of the resulting medical bills, the Phillipses had fallen four months behind on their mortgage payments. They needed $2,000 by this past Wednesday to avoid becoming homeless.

In response, people have donated over $8,500.

"We've satisfied the mortgage company and are back on track," Angela said. "We've been overwhelmed by the response."

When the story ran, the Southeast Missourian Jr. newspaper initiated an online auction of tickets to the April 1 Brooks & Dunn concert at the Show Me Center. The high bid in that auction, which ends Wednesday, now stands at $600. In addition, the newspaper has collected $3,290 in other donations through a special account with the Area Wide United Way.

On top of that, the Phillipses opened a trust fund for Cody with Union Planters Bank for people who wanted to help out directly. That account stands at $4,700, including a $2,500 anonymous donation. Furthermore, the Morley Community Betterment Committee has paid the family's utility bills for the month.

Other than money, people have been dropping groceries by the Phillipses' house. Angela Phillips has even received phone calls from people inquiring about being tested as a bone marrow donor for Cody.

Angela Phillips said that more fund raisers are in the works in nearby Oran, Mo., and at some area schools to help with the ongoing cost of Cody's medical care.

"A big weight has been lifted from our shoulders," Angela Phillips said. "Now we can concentrate on Cody's health."

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137