A benefit is coming up a week from this Saturday for Cole Muth and family.
We're going to talk about that today on the morning show.
Joining us Sheila Troxel.
We have Tina Muth and we also have Pastor Larry Engel joining us here in the studio to talk about it today.
Sheila, here you are back again with another important cause.
It's very important.
We really want to come together and support this family.
They've given a lot back to our community through the years and it's time now that they need a little bit of help and we're going to be here.
to help them.
It appears you've had good response.
Great response.
Great response.
Um, I just every time I pick up my phone, it's like I was at an appointment yesterday and my phone kept just kept ringing and ringing and they're like, does it ever stop?
And I said, no, because people are just reaching out to donate stuff or seeing how they can help or just they just want to be a part of of this.
It's, uh, you know, it's certainly an important fundraiser and I can see where people will step up because, uh, this family has given so much to the community.
They have, they have, I mean, for years they had the, you know, the theater and, um, you know, a lot of families enjoyed their time there.
And, um, I think Bill and I don't know, Lisa, if they're still down there helping, I think Bill's there about every Saturday night at the outdoor.
Um, yeah.
And Cole has been so great to help with so many community projects.
Um, you know, the,
the referendum at the high school and the auditorium.
He has given valuable information to us to help us up there and just a lot of the dance programs that he does.
There's been a lot of things just in other things I'm involved in in community events.
Cole has stepped in and just helped us with lighting to make it special.
And so they just have given back so much to the community.
And this is just really an important
important time to help them.
I believe he may have been helping at the Kikapu musical as well.
I think he's at every musical because I think he's at Prairie Duchenne and Richland Center and You know, he's just has helped with the Betty Hayes event That we just you know recently had he has helped at the 80 German warehouse with lighting for like their haunted houses and dances You know, he's just one you reach out and he's just there to help Cole was the one that helped me find my missing dogs.
You know, he brought his drone out and and
and help me, you know, find them.
I mean, he's just that kind of person.
And it's just amazing how much they've all given back to the community.
What would you like to say about the event, the fundraiser coming up on November 21st?
Sure,
it's going to be Saturday, November 21st, and we're gonna kick off at 8 a.m.
and we're going to have coffee and rolls.
What we're asking and hoping is that the shoppers that are out for the craft shows will stop
by there's just some really really beautiful things that have been donated and then they can stop and they can come all day long we'll be serving lunch and then we will also be sure serving the dinner hour and then we also have Dustin one less is going to DJ that night so there is just going to be an all day all evening fun event
So we're gonna start off with the coffee and rolls, and then we'll start lunch probably around 11, and then we'll probably start the dinner hour around 4.30 or 5, right in there.
So there's gonna be a bake sale, there's gonna be a silent auction, there's gonna be a 50-50, a bucket raffle, there's just gonna be something for...
you know everyone and I do have some of the items for the live auction I kind of highlighted we have well over a hundred items right now between the silent the bucket and the live auction but just to name a few of the things Walsh's ace hardware donated a
pergola that was worth about $1,800.
Trin and Ed Wells has a Blackstone griddle.
Also, Scott and Sally Gould donated a Blackstone griddle.
Driftless Outdoors has, they're going to do a two-folding anorondex chairs.
Sue Pilla and Lee Berkowski, they have, did a beautiful handmade sofa table with matching end tables.
Janice Bronnick made a homemade quilt.
It's just beautiful.
It stars all over it.
But...
Annette Clark has a quilt rack that she's donated Tina's parents have donated John a gun rack and a cedar chest, you know, they're they're again just beautiful and I mean the list just goes on and on and on so There's just something for everyone and with Christmas coming it'd be a great time to stop and do a little Christmas shopping and I just think it's gonna be a wonderful event
Everybody loves an auction.
So and especially a live auction.
Yes, and because
Grove has graciously donated its time and Mick will be the one that will be doing the auctioneering.
Okay.
I don't know that I've ever seen a benefit go that long.
I'm going to be honest, me either.
But you know, it is deer hunting season.
And so what we're hoping is that, um, with the craft shoppers during the day that they'll come and then once that gets dark, that the hunters will also come in, um, and you know, stay and listen to the music and have dinner with us and, you know, bid on some things.
Um,
But yes, I've never done one this long, but it's, I think it's going to be a great, great event.
And we just asked the people to come.
I mean, Cole has been a firefighter for 20 years, giving back to the community.
His dad build it, Bill's dad did.
I mean, they've just really done a lot for the community.
So we're hoping that other firefighters from other departments will be there.
And so this is a chance for, no matter what time it is, we'll be open.
for business and we just, we just hope people will stop by and help us support this family.
Oh, with that many hours, do you have enough help?
I mean, that's my next question.
If somebody's listening and they could lend a helping hand.
Uh, sure.
You know, give us a call.
Um, we do have some of the SSC family, um, that are going to be there.
Um, Tina's family is going to be there.
Other volunteers in the community have stepped up.
Um, I kind of put a little pressure on my friends.
You know, I tell them they can work during the day and then they can,
line dance at night.
Where can people drop?
things off if they'd like to donate.
Well, Wallace Cooper and Elliott Insurance, they can, my office is usually pretty packed there, but they're welcome to bring things there.
And the only thing we are hoping is that when we cut off the silent auction and the live auction, if people could pick up their items that night, because they have a dance at the Phoenix Center the next day.
And so we have to have everything out by 10.
So which will mean that we'll have to translate
support it from the Phoenix Center to my office.
I just haven't told Jeremy that yet.
It'll be all down the hallway, you know, but you don't have to be present to win.
We'll make sure that you get it.
But if you are there, it would be nice to do that.
And I can't say enough about Greg and Amy at the bowling alley on the Phoenix Center.
They've been phenomenal to help out.
They've just
You know, anything we need, they're right there willing to, you know, open up early for us and helping us with the food.
And I just, I just can't say enough.
And I can never say enough about the businesses around town.
This is when it's so important.
to shop local because just every time you go in, nobody turns you down and they just are always so willing to give.
And I just can't say enough about the community.
They're just when something like this happens, I mean, they just step right up and they might have given time and time again, but they just always come through for me.
I'm not surprised.
Or anybody listening that may not know Cole or his family, we want to tell you a little bit more about his story and agreeing to join us today is his wife, Tina Muth, who's here.
Tina, good morning.
Good morning.
Good to have you in the studio with us today.
So let's, let's talk a little bit about the journey.
I had no idea that you've been going through this that long.
Yeah.
So currently Cole has stage four melanoma.
And the journey started way back in about 2015.
You had a mole on his leg that was kind of bothersome, and he went into a provider and had it removed.
They said it was a skin tag, micro back, don't worry about it, and sent him home.
So about two years later in 2017, the mole was back, it was bothering him again.
He finally found time to go in and see the doc and this time they decided that they should send it in to pathology and see what it was.
And it was a total shock to us when it came back as melanoma.
So that fall he had surgery to remove the cancerous area and then some lymph nodes.
At that time, they thought they had gotten it all and were convinced that the best treatment would be essentially no treatment, but to watch and monitor closely to make sure that it didn't come back.
So he had five years of very frequent test scans, doctor's appointments, trips to Madison, and he was clear in that entire time.
So after that five years, they said that he only needed annual checks.
So then in April of 2025, he noticed about a walnut-sized lump on the back of his leg, not too far away from where the original surgery site was.
So immediately called the dermatologist, did a biopsy, and he was in the middle of rehearsal for a dance show when they called and said that it was, again, melanoma.
So up until this point, Cole really did not
about his diagnosis.
He kept it pretty private.
He didn't want the attention on himself when he knew that other people were going through far worse things.
So somehow he managed to get through the rest of that rehearsal and the rest of the entire dance season with very few people knowing about the struggle that he was facing.
So his treatment this time, he had two rounds of immunotherapy in May and June, and then he had two surgeries in July.
And then as he was recovering from the surgery, unfortunately the side effects from the immunotherapy hit.
So he spent several days as an inpatient at UW and will have lifelong complications from the immunotherapy itself.
So because of those complications, they decided that the next step was to do an oral treatment and those pills that he were taken resulted in terrible fevers.
So they ended up changing the medication several times, so they found something that seemed to be working.
Then he started to develop headaches, nausea, just feeling terrible.
They thought maybe it was the medications, but they did another round of scans and they found in April that the cancer had spread to his brain and his spinal fluid.
This then changed the plan yet again, and he had to go back to some immunotherapy along with brain and spine radiation.
On June 19th, he completed his 10th round of radiation, but those also led to some very serious side effects.
So he ended up having fevers as high as 104 degrees, which the docs just couldn't believe it, that an adult had a fever of 104 multiple times.
It ended up taking three different hospital stays for a total of 16 days before they figured out what was going on and he was well enough to finally stay back home.
After this, the next round of testing showed that the cancer in his brain had improved, but there were multiple new spots in other areas.
Various organs, bones, lymph nodes, and then he was getting lumps again at the surgery site.
on his leg.
So they biopsied these bots and confirmed that they were indeed melanoma and at this point it was stage four.
So currently Cole's back on the oral medications and doing okay with that but it's not something that he can take forever and it's not something that will fix or cure the cancer it's just trying to slow it down at this point.
So we consulted Mayo Clinic and UW both, and they have decided that his last option for a cure is a procedure called till therapy.
So in October, he had surgery to remove some of the cancer cells.
Those cells are now at a lab where they will take out the T cells, which is one of the, you know, cells that go after the cancer.
So they take out those cells, they grow them, and then
they will re-infuse those back into his body through an IV.
But to prepare for this, he needs to have about a week of chemotherapy, and he will be hospitalized for two to four weeks while he goes through this and recovers from the chemo and the infusions.
This is scheduled at this point to start on December 2nd, and he will be immunocompromised from the chemo
So at this point, we have to cancel all of our usual holiday plans, so he's not exposed to illnesses.
Our kids are seven and 10, and they will spend the month with family, and I will stay in a hotel near the hospital.
And throughout all this, Cole has continued to work his full-time job as much as he can.
He has continued to run his business, do shows.
And he was continuing with the fire department up until this past hospital stay and he became too weak to, to do that at this point in time.
It's an amazing story.
That's the thing.
The most impressive thing of it all is he's still working.
You know, I don't know how, I mean, he's a fighter, isn't
he?
Yeah.
And in some ways he has no choice because he has the insurance and there's no way you could go through all of these treatments and all these doctor appointments without having.
insurance behind you and so he's been you know fighting to work as much as he possibly can because he's our sole income and our sole means for insurance.
What are your spirits like?
Depends on the day.
A lot of times we try to just forget about it and carry on with what needs to be done because what else can you do you know but definitely has moments when
gets frustrated that he can't do the things that he used to do, or that he wants to do, or doesn't have the energy to play with the kids, you know, the way he typically would.
You've had amazing support from the community, and I know that's not something that Cole was real fired up about, you know, seeking, but I mean, it's got to be rewarding to see people step up for you, isn't
it?
Right, yeah.
You know, over the last year, as things kind of got worse, and we needed more help, it
I mean, it was tough to ask people for help, for people to help watch our kids, to watch our dog, to, you know, somebody just put up our Christmas lights for us this past week, because I didn't think Cole should be climbing on the roof, even though he thought differently.
He probably wanted to.
He did want to, yes.
But yeah, there really hasn't been anything that we have asked for that we haven't been given.
And a lot of times people step up before we even ask.
And this benefit was one of those things too.
It was probably about a year ago that I was asked if they could put on a benefit and Cole immediately said, no, I don't need that.
I don't want that.
There's other people that need it worse.
And eventually he was convinced that people wanted to do this and saying no, you know, it would be almost worse than saying yes and letting people help in whatever way that they could.
Pastor Larry Engel is here as well.
Larry, why are you involved in this?
Well, in stage four in Melanoma, it's one of our loved families of four.
And it's a young family.
And in this community, we know each other personally.
And then Cole, I go back to Cole.
I first met him when he was 10 and it was a Holly Dunn concert.
You remember that?
I sure
do.
He is on a ladder.
with his dad, and they're putting up the stage, right?
So for every stage since then, that was what Cole was doing.
So if you think about that kind of community involvement and community service, and you think about the fact that his grandfather was a firefighter, his dad was a firefighter, and Cole was a firefighter, and they have that Wisconsin male, you know, I'd really
don't want to come out in public, but I'll serve you and do anything.
I'll give you the shirt off my back, but you know, um, I don't want yours, but it's, it's, we have to do, um, what we're called to.
And at this time it's to wrap our arms around this loving family.
Yeah.
Very much so, uh, as you hear the story, you know, it's a story of perseverance, isn't it?
Oh, it's incredible.
I mean, when you think about it, you know, but that 10 year old and a seven year old, right?
And they're learning these types of values and they're moving forward.
Tina and Cole are gifts.
It just, and then their families coming out and their friends are coming out.
I mean, this is a community wrap at its arms around those who were servants to us for years and continue to be,
continue to be.
It sounds like it's going to be a little bit of a family reunion, right?
With family and friends.
Yeah, I don't think Holly Dunn's going to
come, but she's invited.
Okay.
Shields something you wanted?
Well, I just wanted to say, you know, just this past week, you know, with Cole being so ill, but where was he?
He was up doing Mamma Mia up at the high school.
So I mean, he's so dedicated to to make that those shows a success.
And I think that just speaks volumes about him and his family.
I know I one of the things that I had to
thought I was kind of cute that I had taken a Lego set over to him because when Cole is not feeling well, that's sometimes something he can share with the kids.
Well, then they had to show me all their Ghostbuster Legos and everything.
And that was something that he can do with his kids.
But it's just, if you know them, you know that they would do the same for us.
So the Star Spangled Family
always been tight even though it's not going anymore.
We've always stayed you know in contact pretty much and a lot of them have come out and to work the event to honor them.
A lot of the children all grew up together.
They did.
Yep.
Um, my son Andy and Cole graduated together and they were in guys and dolls together at the high school.
And so, I mean the, the class of 1984, oh no, excuse me, that was a year they were born class of 2003.
I mean, um, uh, they've just stepped up too.
And I've gotten calls from, um, classmates and how they can help and things like that.
So, um, some of them are coming back to work the event.
so kudos to the class of 2003 for being there for your classmate.
Yeah just an important fundraiser for everybody involved and I think people as they hear this too will want to get involved again monetarily is there somewhere that people can donate if they'd like to do
that?
Yeah they can certainly leave things at my office and I'll make sure that they get it or
Tina has Vimal, I think, and they can do it that way as well.
But probably, if they have any questions, they can give me a call, 608-604-4672, or my sister and brother-in-law, Trinidad Wells, they've been great to help.
And they're 608-585-2136, or Pastor Larry Engel, 608-604-0996, any of those, but they're welcome to
give me a call at work and I'd be happy to help and we'll figure it out.
On the 21st then the silent auction, the bakes and all that, when does the silent auction, when do those items go off sale then?
I think what we're going to do is probably, what did we decide yesterday about 8 o'clock?
eight
o'clock, you know, the live auction on the poster, it says, um, eight o'clock for the live auction.
And then, um, the silent auction will probably be around eight PM as well.
And then, um, that way, uh, Dustin on less and, um, the DJ can get started and we can dance the night away.
And then, uh, yeah, then the live auction goes on probably right about the time all of those things come off sale then.
Yes.
Yeah.
Great.
Tina, anything else you want to add this morning about your story?
I just want to say thanks to the whole community.
Like I said before, it's just been amazing to see people come out of the woodwork and step up anytime we need anything.
And good luck.
Your children are doing all right.
Alright, yeah, it's hard on anybody, but
I'm sure because you kind of kept it from them for a little while I'm thinking
we did yeah until it was necessary that they know that you know There's enough appointments that they start asking questions as what's going on and you know as Cole started to look more ill You know clearly they needed to know in kid terms what was going on
right?
So a lot of prayers will be going out in the month of December for you, especially, right?
Yeah, I hope so.
Pastor Ingle, anything else that you'd like to add here?
It's a time to bless those who blessed us.
See you on the 21st.
Very well said.
Coming up
Saturday, November 21st, 8am to 11pm.
The Colm Youth and Family Benefit, Richland Center Lions.
They've stepped up for you again, Sheila, as
well.
Richland Center Lions, Richland Center Fire Department.
We're just all coming together as a community to help this young family.
Help them take an aim at cancer and stand with the Muth family as Cold Battles stage for melanoma.
Thanks for joining us today,
guys.
Thank
you, Phil.
Sheila Troxel, pasty laryngal, and Tina Muth joining us on this portion of the morning show.