Muscle it up: Lift-A-Thon a huge success this morning

The Butler high school gym was buzzing with activity this morning as local folks showed some muscle in a "Lift-A-Thon" benefit for a local boy who fell ill recently.

Oliver Oates, son of Heath and Allison Oates of rural Butler suddenly fell ill during the Bates County fair and doctors struggled to make a firm diagnosis. An MRI showed possible swelling in areas of his spine and brain. Steroids were administered to give some relief, but the pain has been nearly overwhelming at times for both the boy and his family. Add to that, trouble with his motor skills has been cause for more concern.


As of today, Allison Oates is reporting that he is in good spirits and showing signs of improvement overall, despite a fairly firm diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Testing and treatment is ongoing at this time. 

In the meantime, Oliver remains at Children's Mercy hospital in Kansas City. Treatment will focus more on recovery and rehab beginning of next week. 

In a huge showing of support, this morning over 50 youth participated in a Lift-A-Thon in the Butler high school gym where participants made their way around the gym while exercising a wide variety of weight based lifting techniques. 

The event which lasted only a few hours raised well over $3,000 to help the family offset medical costs.

The Oates family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire community for coming together and showing support in such a huge way.