Fundraiser for local with rare disease Saturday

Friends of Melissa Ruby have organized a chili vs. spaghetti cook-off fundraiser in the Montana State University-Northern Student Union Building Ballroom Saturday to help her offset medical expenses from her drawn-out battle with the rare disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome.

The benefit, scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m., will also have a live auction, a silent auction, a 50/50 raffle drawing and activities for children.

Nancy Marshall, a friend of Ruby’s who attends church at Alliance Community Church with her and a co-organizer of the benefit, said some of the items that have been donated for the live auction are an electric fireplace, a “really nice quilt and paintings,” and they expect an autographed item from local NFL player Marc Mariani.

“We got a lot of donations. People have been really generous,” Marshall said.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a disorder in which a person’s immune system damages nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. In very rare cases, people have died of the disease, usually from difficulty breathing.

Ruby has been dealing with the disorder for three months. She has been recently transported to Benefis Hospital is Great Falls, where she has recently improved, Marshall said.

“She’s improved greatly. She was able to stand, she was able to take a few steps,” Marshall said.

As for when Ruby can return home, Marshall said, it’s too soon to tell.