A Port Angeles grandmother and three of her friends will be climbing 1,311 stairs of Seattle’s 933-foot Columbia Center on March 22 to raise money for blood cancer research — and to help her grandson.
Colton’s Army, a team of supporters, is helping fund the treatment of Colton Matter, a 14-year-old boy from Mill Creek who is fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Colton is the grandson of James and Sandy Schultz of Port Angeles and the son of Suzy Schultz Matter of Bothell, a Port Angeles High School graduate.
He was diagnosed with the blood cancer in 2009 and has fought it with chemotherapy, two bone marrow transplants, a stem cell transplant and a revolutionary T-cell therapy trial, Sandy Schultz said.
The leukemia has been sent into remission five times and has returned four times, she said.
As of Jan. 28, tests showed that Colton had no detectable cancer, Schultz said, but with his immune system weakened, he caught influenza and pneumonia and was hospitalized at Seattle Children’s Hospital for two weeks.
Still recovering
He is still recovering and will continue anti-fungal treatments through the end of this month, she said.
Colton’s Army, a team of 242 people from across the U.S., will take part in the 29th annual Big Climb, a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Seattle.
“We want to find a cure that will cure Colton and millions of others now and in the future,” James Schultz said.
Members take pledges, then attempt to climb to the top of the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, the tallest building in the state, with 69 flights and 1,311 individual stairs.
Participants race to the top, with the top five fundraisers in each of several categories earning membership in the Summit Club.
In addition to Sandy Schultz, Port Angeles-area climbers are Joy Sheedy, Yvette Cline and Jay Cline.
The group members from Port Angeles have taken part in the climb five or six years each.
Biggest team
Colton’s Army is the largest team registered to climb the tower, and it plans to rush the stairs in a sea of orange shirts that serve as the uniform.
In 2014, the Colton’s Army team was the top fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, having raised $105,000.
The team’s goal this year is $150,000. As of Tuesday, the team was in the lead with a total of $136,083.75, according to the Big Climb website.
On Tuesday, Schultz had raised $2,306 of a $2,500 goal, and is accepting donations through the website www.bigclimb.org.
To donate, click on the red “Donate” button, then search for “Colton’s Army” or “Sandy Schultz.”
Colton was listed Tuesday as the top individual fundraiser, with a total of $30,545.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
