Meg Mulhall’s mother, Deb, has had more than her share of troubles.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer 17 years ago, and she beat that, and has been
cancer free. In treating her for the cancer doctors detected raised liver
enzymes.
About 10 years ago she was diagnosed with hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver. Now
she’s undergoing her third round of treatment for that.
"She’s been to hell and back," said her daughter, a senior in German
education at Bowling Green State University.
Deb Mulhall, of Mentor, didn’t have an easy start to her life. She spent her early
years in an orphanage in Zagreb in what is now Croatia. She was adopted and
brought to the Cleveland when she was 4 years old in the mid-1950s.
Mulhall said the cause of her mother’s condition is a mystery. Her mother has not had
the substance abuse problems often associated with the diseases.
The latest treatment is a new development "proven to be more successful,"
Megan Mulhall said.
Some of her BGSU friends have banded together to help lighten the financial load on
the family.
Brigitte Reinke, of Bowling Green, has brought together musicians from the College of
Musical Arts together for a benefit concert Friday at 8 p.m. in the sanctuary of
First United Methodist Church, 1526 E. Wooster St.
Reinke and Mulhall got to know each other while they were in Salzburg, Austria as
part of the university’s study abroad program. They were part of a small group
of BGSU students who grew close and have kept in touch.
At Christmas Mulhall’s roommate Katherine Lehner organized a gift giving campaign
that helped the family.
That spurred Reinke, a senior majoring in vocal performance into action. She decided
to call on her friends in music to do the benefit. The goal is to raise $2,000 –
that’s the monthly cost, not covered by health insurance, of the drug Deb
Mulhall needs to keep her red blood cell count up.
Reinke said she didn’t have any problems filling up the hour-long program.
For the musicians it’s both a chance to help a fellow student as well as to perform
music before spring auditions and juries. "And some are songs they just
love to sing," Reinke said.
The concert will feature vocalists, flutists and pianists.
The program is still in flux but those scheduled to perform include:
• Katie Pakizer, flute, "Sequenza I" by Luciano Berio.
• Mindy Sondag, piano, "Ballade Op. 10 No. 1" by Johannes Brahms.
• Ian Wenz, flute, "Morceau de Concours" by Gabriel Faure and "Andante
in C Major" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• Errin Brooks, baritone, with Sarah Puckett, piano, "He Got The Whole World in
His Hands" by Margaret Bonds.
• Brianna Sosenheimer, soprano, with Puckett, "Chacun le sait" by Gaetano
Donizetti.
• Melinda Puehler, soprano, with Mindy Sondag, piano, "Si mes vers avaint des
ailes" by Reynaldo Hahn and "Gretchen am Spinnrade" by Franz
Schubert.
• Jessica Weis, soprano, with Sondag, "Will There Really Be A Morning?" by
Richard Hundley and "Lascia ch’io pianga" by George Frideric Handel.
• Brendan Jacklin, piano, "Fantasy on an Archaic Legend No. 2 ‘The Valley of the
Horses’" by Sarah Konescni.
• Courtney Wallace, soprano, with Puckett, "La coccinelle" by Georges Bizet
and "Sonnet" Thomas Pasatieri.
