Bracelets for Brooke on Sale in Madison

Fundraisers and shows of support for Brooke Healey, the 4-year-old daughter of a Madison teacher and coach, have been springing up around Madison at wrestling meets, the bowling alley and in schools and shops.

Brooke, the daughter of Steve Healey, a teacher in Madison for more than a decade, is undergoing a series of radiation treatments in New York to shrink a tumor on her brain stem. After the radiation treatments, she is expected to undergo experimental treatments in hopes of beating the disease.

Healey, an assistant coach for the high school football, wrestling and track teams, has been a math teacher at Madison High School the past two years, and taught math at Madison Junior School the 10 years before that.

While Healey has been on a leave of absence exhaustively researching the disease and treatment options, fundraising efforts for Brooke were set in motion by family friends.

He said the funds will be much-needed to cover medical expenses and related costs, and the community support has been "amazing."

"Without everyones support and fundraising, I don't know where we'd be right now," he said.

Samantha Davis said her family has donated thousands of purple rubber bracelets that are on sale for $5 each at Madison stores and are being sold in the schools.

We "keep on having to get more because of the amount of people that want them and that want to donate," she said.

The Healeys are close family friends of the Davis family, the same family who lost their Hunter Drive home to a fire, and Steve Healey was her brother, Patsy Davis', wrestling coach, she said.

They are available at

• Alfred's Sport Shop
• Madison Medical
• CJ Deli
• D Torr
• Hickory Tree Pizza in Chatham
• Madison Bowling Alley
• Madison Pharmacy
• Main Street Subs
• Romanelli's

The family is providing information and updates about Brooke's health on her CaringBridge page.

Donations for Brooke can be made online at njheartworks.org, noting Brooke Healey. A "Believe in Brooke" fundraising benefit is scheduled for 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at The Grand Summit Hotel. For more information email bbratz@optonline.net.