By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

A Hays teen got a break last week from the rigors of cancer treatment when a group of celebrities visited her at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

Sophia Linenberger’s visit included an interview with Al Roker that appeared on the “Today” show on June 10. She was also visited by Selena Gomez, Adam Scott, Paul Rudd and Zachary Levi among others.

Levi, who voiced the character Flynn Rider in the movie “Tangled,” serenaded Sophia and the stars with a song from the movie. Levi’s serenade featuring Sophia also appeared on “Entertainment Tonight.”

The star treatment was all a part of a fundraising effort by Children’s Mercy called the Big Slick. This year was the 10th anniversary of the Big Slick. Children Mercy set a goal to conclude the event with $10 million raised over the 10 years of the event. The hospital was able to raise $2.5 million just this year, pushing it past the $10 million goal.

Jenny Linenberger, Sophia’s mother, spoke for her daughter and said the visit was a break from all Sophia has been through during her recent cancer treatment.

“It took her mind off of the cancer. … It took her mind off of the chemotherapy. It took her mind off of the radiation. It took her mind off of the whole Ewing’s Sarcoma cancer and the whole thing for just a little bit, and that meant a lot to her,” Jenny said.

Sophia, 15, a soon-to-be sophomore at Thomas More Prep-Marian, has a rare form of cancer — Ewing’s Sarcoma. Less than 1,000 people per year are diagnosed with this type. The cancer grows in bones or in soft tissue around bones. Sophia’s cancer started in her spine and her mother said it spread like “bind weed.”

Sophia has had two surgeries, just completed six weeks of radiation and is well into an eight-and-a-half-month course of chemotherapy.

The family drives back and forth to Kansas City for treatments that take between one to six days. Although she was home Wednesday, Sophia’s last trip to K.C. this week was via ambulance.

Jenny said seeing the stars rally around her daughter also meant much to her personally.

“There are times where Sophia will say, ‘I wish I could be normal. I wish I could do stuff with my friends. I wish I could go swimming … do summer things,’ ” Jenny said.

“She gets kind of frustrated at that because she can’t do the things that kids do because she is on a walker and needs a wheelchair for distance. For them to do what they did meant a lot to me — to just let my kid to be a kid again — just to see her smile, the face beam up.

“She said she felt normal again, and that was gratifying to me. It was wonderful. She always has a smile on her face, but to actually see her be a kid again, a teenager, it meant a lot.”

Children’s Mercy has been integral in Sophia’s care, her mother said, but not just in the treatment of her cancer. The staff care for her as a whole person. The hospital has child life specialists who organizes activities for the children while they are in the hospital. The hospital also has a therapy dog named Hunter. When Sophia can’t leave her room, someone comes to her sometimes just to talk.

“Children’s Mercy has been like a dream to me, because without them, I don’t  know where we would be,” Jenny said.

Unfortunately, Sophia’s illness is not all the family is dealing with. Jenny’s husband ended up in the ER five weeks ago and has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

“My life is pretty full,” Jenny said.

However, Jenny said she and the whole family have been very thankful for the community’s support during Sophia’s illness.

Anthony and the Animals had a benefit concert in Hays for Sophia, and TMP and Holy Family have also spearheaded fundraisers for the family.

“We have had a lot of prayer from the community, and we are grateful, believe me,” she said.