Doug Morneau Benefit Supper

02/23/2019

Council: 12941 - BIDDEFORD

Project Description:

Family Project
Doug Morneau Benefit Supper 2/9/19 Most Holy Church Hall, Saco
15 knights/25 total people 127 hours
Doug Morneau is our fellow parishioner, our Brother Matthew Morneau’s uncle; his sister is Eileen Morneau, sacristan at St Joseph’s 11am Mass. Starting in early 2018, Doug became seriously ill, suffering from agonizing recurring headaches. Over time they got more and more severe, and increasingly frequent until he had to be treated in the hospital ER every day. He had 118 trips there. Doug became unable to work at his auto sales job, and his life was reduced to a routine of being struck before sunrise with crushing pain in his head, next agonizing for hours in the hospital waiting for the medicine to kick in and bring relief, then going home to bed to rest till the cycle began again. Doctors reckoned that Doug could get some relief from a nerve abrasion treatment, but the improvement would be temporary as the nerve would grow back. It would take a deep brain operation to really resolve Doug’s problem. The operation has never been performed in the US and is considered experimental, so health insurance will not pay the $100,000 cost. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2018, Doug underwent the preliminary surgery which is expected to provide a measure of relief that will make life tolerable for the next few months and buy him time to fundraise for the major brain surgery that will hopefully resolve matters for good. This where we Knights come in.
St Joseph Council put on a turkey supper to benefit Doug Morneau on Saturday February 9, 2019 from 5 to 6:30pm at the Most Holy Trinity church hall in Saco. The meal was offered for free with donations accepted. This has been our best bet for fund raising in recent years. Brother Knights planned and carried out the supper as helpers to prep, cook, serve the meal and clean up after. The Morneau family joined in to publicize the supper and help serve in the hall. Doug Morneau was there himself, feeling pretty good, helping to serve beverages. We thought it would be wise to set up a second serving line to better handle a rush of people and it turned out we guessed right. We guesstimated we would serve 200 diners, but about 300 showed up to eat. Still, we were able to fill everyone’s plate, even after the mashed potatoes ran out. Extra dessert was the answer, just like at home! We got many compliments on the cuisine, and the combination of good food and good times with many kindred spirits made it an occasion to long remember. Our diners’ generosity reflected their mood, as the event raised $3500 toward the sky high cost of Doug’s big operation.