Benefit dinner planned for GPD cancer patient
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on July 28, 2010 1:46 PM
Officer James Serlick
All 500 pre-ordered chicken benefit dinners to help a Goldsboro officer suffering from cancer are sold out, but donations are still welcome, city police say.
There are also an additional 100 plates that might be sold Friday at the benefit to assist Officer James Serlick, organizers say.
The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Paul United Methodist Church.
Investigator Jeremy Sutton organized the benefit. He added that Goldsboro businesses had been very helpful in donating food and supplies.
Police spokesman Chad Calloway said Sutton was worried about the financial condition of Serlick's family.
Serlick, 25, is suffering from a rare form of leukemia, called chronic myeloid leukemia, and has undergone heavy treatment since early 2009.
He first began noticing symptoms on Feb. 9, 2009, on a night shift. Officers had to wrangle up some cows that had escaped from a pasture, and Serlick noticed he was tired.
About 10 days later, he noticed "something on the back of his leg that was hurting" him, and began to get minor illnesses such as a sinus infections.
After he was diagnosed with leukemia by a Wayne Memorial Hospital emergency room physician, Serlick entered treatment.
Treatments for the disease are extremely expensive, Goldsboro officers have said.
"The first reason for this benefit is to support Officer Serlick financially, while he's battling this disease," Calloway said. "Investigator Sutton has put the whole thing together and has gotten a lot of assistance from the other members of the department."
Sutton will be doing the cooking on Friday, and urged the public to try to get one of the remaining 100 chicken dinner plates, which cost $7 each.
"Five-hundred plates was the goal, so obviously we surpassed our goal," Calloway said.
To make a donation to Serlick's family, citizens can call Goldsboro Capt. Al King at 580-4236.