<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=47boNi_0vkQx1Ob00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=47boNi_0vkQx1Ob00" width="468" height="311" ><figcaption>Messenger photos by Jeff Pfeil Rylynn Darst, 2, of West Jefferson gets ready to go down the slide on her new playset, donated and constructed by Roc Solid Foundation. Rylynn is battling craniopharyngioma, a rare type of brain tumor.</figcaption></figure>(Posted Sept. 26, 2024)Rylynn Darst, 2, and her sister, Evelynn, 3, are enjoying a new playset in their backyard in West Jefferson, thanks to Roc Solid Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides playsets to children who are fighting cancer. Rylynn and Evelynn are the daughters of Matt and Marcy Darst. Rylynn is battling craniopharyngioma, a rare type of brain tumor.Rylynn’s condition was discovered in January of this year after her parents detected sudden and severe problems with Rylynn’s vision. They consulted their pediatrician who sent them to the eye clinic at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus that same day. Before the day was out, Rylynn was sent to the hospital’s emergency room where MRI scans showed a tumor on her brain.The next day, surgeons removed a cyst that was attached to the tumor and pushing on Rylynn’s optic nerves. They were unable to remove the tumor itself at that time, nor determine what kind of tumor it was. A week later, a second surgery resulted in removal of 98 percent of the mass. The good news: The tumor was benign, none of it had broken off and traveled to other parts of her body, and against the odds, Rylynn fully regained her sight. The tough news: it’s a type of tumor that almost never goes away completely and must be dealt with carefully due to its proximity not only to optic nerves but also to the pituitary gland which regulates everything from hormones to digestion.Matt and Marcy are thankful for the return of Rylynn’s sight. They were told that, typically with this condition, a patient must be treated within 24 hours of losing their vision in order to regain, on average, 75 percent of their vision. Rylynn had been without her vision for two weeks.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2UDVQ6_0vkQx1Ob00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2UDVQ6_0vkQx1Ob00" width="468" height="279" ><figcaption>Members of Roc Solid Foundation and volunteers from the Amazon distribution center in West Jefferson spread mulch during construction of a playset for Rylynn Darst and her sister, Evelynn.</figcaption></figure>“We put a prayer call out to everyone, and we put a prayer cloth under her pillow (at the hospital) and within 24 to 48 hours she was getting her sight back,” said Marcy, expressing her appreciation for the medical attention Rylynn received and to the support of friends, family, and the community.There is more work to be done, however, as the tumor is slowly growing back. The family is meeting with doctors and surgeons to determine what treatment plan to pursue moving forward.In the meantime, the playset is a fun diversion for Rylynn and her sister. The Darsts first learned about Roc Solid Foundation during their 22-day stay at Children’s Hospital. A social worker there told the family about different organizations that do positive things for children going through treatments and for their families. Roc Solid provided the Darsts with a book bag of coloring books, crayons, a tablet to watch shows on, personal care items, and more to use while they were at the hospital.Marcy said the supplies were very helpful, especially the first several days, considering they hadn’t gone to the pediatrician that first day knowing they’d be admitted to Children’s Hospital that night.While Matt and Marcy became familiar with Rock Solid Foundation’s book bag program, they knew nothing about the playset project. So, when they received the news that Rylynn had been selected to receive one, they were floored.“It was a really nice surprise,” Matt said.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2sIm60_0vkQx1Ob00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2sIm60_0vkQx1Ob00" width="468" height="311" ><figcaption>Hannah Plott (right), a representative of Roc Solid Foundation, presents a plaque to Matt and Marcy Darst, parents of Rylynn and Evelynn Darst, of West Jefferson. The plaque contains inspirational phrases about cancer’s limitations, stating for example that it cannot silence courage, eat away peace, or destroy confidence.</figcaption></figure>The Darsts’ playset is one of dozens of playsets Roc Solid donated and built for pediatric cancer patients across the country during its 3rd Annual Play Defeats Cancer Tour. The tour took place over three days in mid-September and coincides with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.This year’s tour included two stops in central Ohio. On Sept. 12, Roc Solid built a playset for an 8-year-old girl in Columbus who is battling acute myeloid leukemia. On Sept. 13, they teamed up with volunteers from the Amazon distribution center in West Jefferson to build the playset for the Darst family. Construction was completed within a few hours.The set features a slide, swings, climbing wall, playhouse, picnic table, and more. The crew let Rylynn and Evelynn color on some of the pieces, which they then got to find once the set was built. The crew also wrote messages of blessings, prayers, and hope on the set for the family to discover. The process and the end result proved to be a hit.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4GwKgE_0vkQx1Ob00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4GwKgE_0vkQx1Ob00" width="360" height="462" ><figcaption>Sisters Evelynn and Rylynn Darst work their way up the climbing wall on their new playset.</figcaption></figure>“The girls like it a lot. They keep wanting to go out and play on their new playset,” Matt said.“We’re just really, really amazed,” Marcy said of the generosity.Eric Newman, founder and chief play officer for Roc Solid, is a pediatric cancer survivor. He started the organization to make a positive impact on children fighting cancer. The idea to do that with playsets came from the fact that one of the first things taken from children fighting cancer is the opportunity to play. Often, they cannot play in public places or with friends due to their compromised immune systems. Backyard playsets provide children with safe, germ-free places to play, as well as an escape from doctor appointments and the harsh reality of fighting cancer.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Giving the gift of play

Rylynn Darst, 2, and her sister, Evelynn, 3, are enjoying a new playset in their backyard in West Jefferson, thanks to Roc Solid Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides playsets to children who are fighting cancer. Rylynn and Evelynn are the daughters of Matt and Marcy Darst. Rylynn is battling craniopharyngioma, a rare type of brain tumor.