Gun drawing raising funds for woman with inoperable tumor

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A local man has jumped into the effort to raise money for a Manning High School coach’s wife, who was diagnosed in late October 2014 with an inoperable brain tumor. Pete Surette is holding a drawing for two Glock model 42 .380 semi-automatic pistols to raise money for Haigan Jordan Gandy, wife of coach and teacher Justin Gandy. The couple married Sept. 20, 2014, and Haigan was diagnosed less than two months later after suffering through symptoms for nearly five months. “I thought a lot of the dizziness was just stress from planning the wedding,” Haigan said earlier this month. “You hear about a lot of brides being stressed out. I figured we’d have the wedding and it would get a little better. I went to doctors, but they just told me it was vertigo.” Haigan had her first MRI after five doctors. Eight months later, the 27-year-old Cheraw native has seen even more doctors and specialists, including neurologists, neuro-oncologists and brain surgeons. “All of them have said it’s inoperable,” she said. “They say that it’s spread out. The malignant cells are mixed in with the good cells, so there’s no way they could take it out. It’s a tumor, but it’s not in typical tumor form.” Surette said he wanted to help a family which has given a lot to Manning High School. Surette’s son, Jesse, attends Manning High School and plays sports there. Tickets are $10 each, and each ticket is a chance to win one of the two guns. The drawing will be held July 17. All funds will go toward Haigan’s treatment. “All Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Rules apply,” Surette said. Tickets may be purchased at The Manning Times, 230 E. Boyce St. in Manning (the old State Farm office), or by calling Surette at (803) 518-1405.