Bethel’s men’s basketball game against IUSB this Saturday is more than just an exhibition—it’s a charity event to raise money for 13-year-old Ella Hunt, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). When Ella was born, doctors didn’t expect her to survive more than six weeks, according to her mother, Erica Hunt. The diagnosis was devastating.
“We had no idea that we would be leaving the hospital coming home to hospice,” Erica said. “And a DNR form on our front porch.”
Erica struggled to grasp what the news meant for Ella’s future.
“We looked at Ella, and she just was smiling with these bright eyes,” Erica said. “She has beautiful, bright eyes and, we're just like, I just don't see it. I don't think she's gonna die in six weeks. We just couldn't quantify it. Then we realized it was that her spirit and her drive to live was shining so brilliantly at that time, even at six months old. We still see it today at thirteen.”
Ella beat the odds, but it hasn’t come without challenges, Erica said.
“She’s lost all of her muscles,” Erica said. “A lot of us don’t even think about what muscles we’re using to do X, Y, and Z. But then when you don’t have them, you realize how important they are. She can’t swallow, she can’t inflate her own lungs fully because it takes muscles to do that, and she no longer has feeling from her chest down. She’s 100% dependent on others for survival.”
Despite her restrictions, Erica said Ella has thrived from the start.
“She’s thriving and that’s the part that’s beautiful,” Erica said. “There’s just a joy in her. There is just nothing that holds her back. She’s the epitome of living in hope, and we know that every day is truly a gift. She’s a very typical 13-year-old, I mean, 100% a 13-year-old kid. She has big dreams and big hopes.”
Saturday’s charity basketball game at Bethel is part of those big dreams.
“Ella informed me the other day,” Erica said, “she has to go to Bethel because everybody else did.”
The idea for the charity event came from Kiel Boynton, an assistant professor of kinesiology at Bethel. For his Administration and Organization class, Boynton tasked students with choosing a charity to support.
“We tell them they have to put on an event,” Boynton said. “They have to run everything that has to do with that event. Part of it is we wanted to find either a cause or an organization or a charity or something that we could raise money for through this event. Noah Hunt was actually a student of mine that graduated last year, and one of the students in my current class said, ‘What if we do something for Noah Hunt’s sister?’”
Funds raised from the game will help pay for a new wheelchair lift for the family’s van, which Erica said is essential for Ella’s needs.
“Locally, there’s not a team of doctors for her,” Erica said. “We either have to travel to Cincinnati or Madison, Wisconsin, for centers that have physicians who can handle her. We go to Madison three to four times a year.”
Tip-off for the game is at 3 p.m. Saturday, with doors opening at 1:30 p.m. Boynton said ticket sales will benefit the charity, and there will be additional donation opportunities during the game.
“There’s gonna be raffles, there’s gonna be games, there’s gonna be prizes, there’s gonna be entertainment throughout the game,” Boynton said. “We’re trying to make this a very fun event for those who attend. So we want anybody in the community to come. It’s not just Bethel or IUSB fans. Anybody who just wants to come out, support a good cause, and support Ella and her family can also watch a good basketball game.”
Erica hopes the event will give Ella and her story a chance to inspire even more people. She said Ella’s impact has been felt deeply by many, including her sons Noah and Carter.
“I look at Noah and I look at Carter,” Erica said, “and others that have chosen paths in medicine or have made decisions of service because of their experiences with Ella. I think that’s the legacy— all the lives that Noah’s going to touch and Carter is going to touch. Noah’s ex-girlfriend became a nurse because of Ella. Ella’s cousin became a physical therapist because of Ella. It’s like that’s the ripple effect of her life. And that’s a bigger legacy than I could have even imagined.”
