Published: March 02, 2008 11:32 pm      

Somerset teen overcomes adversity by helping others

Victoria Baker and her colleagues on student council at Somerset Area Junior High School are getting ready for a change in seasons.

Armed with literature about spring and Easter, Victoria and the others will teach the children at St. Peter’s School in Somerset how the two seasons will affect their lives.

Their visit to St. Peter’s will take place within the next two weeks.

Their last visit was at Christmas when Victoria and the others read Christmas stories to the youngsters and played bingo with them.

“We’ve really bonded with the students,” Victoria said, adding that their program is geared to pupils in first grade through third grade.

Victoria, who graduated from St. Peter’s, said it’s nice to be able to do things that are beneficial for others.

Victoria, 14, leads a busy life. Not only does the freshman have homework to do, but at school she also plays on the girls tennis team and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is active at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Somerset, where she is an altar server and sings in the junior choir.

But one activity that keeps her busy every day is raising money to help people battling the same disease with which she is afflicted – juvenile linear scleroderma.

Victoria, the daughter of Jack and Rebecca Baker of Somerset, said she was diagnosed with the disease 11/2 years ago.

The rare disease causes a line of thickened skin that can affect the bones and muscles underneath, limiting motion. There is no cure for the disease, and it is not fatal, she said.

Doctors at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh are having success in treating her.

Victoria said doctors check the progression or regression of the disease by pinching the skin to determine its thickness. Though not painful, it is unpleasant, she said.

There is ultrasound equipment, developed in Sweden, to determine the thickness, but it’s not available at Children’s Hospital, she said.

Therefore, she is raising money to purchase the nearly $40,000 piece of equipment for the hospital.

She launched a Web site two weeks ago to aid in the fundraising. Each time someone clicks on an advertisement on the site, toriibeexx3.googlepages.com, Google contributes a nickel to her cause, she said. The ads tells people how they can get help.

“It’s working well,” she said. “So far, I’ve earned $3. It’s a start. I hope to raise a lot more. I hope to raise $40,000 so that Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh can buy the machine.”

Victoria also is planning to install a chat room on the Web site so that people with the disease can share stories and give each other encouragement.

Victoria has overcome much in her life – beating back a rare, congenital lung disease and living with a bleeding disorder. People who know her believe she will be successful in the Web site project.

Victoria’s mother and a friend of the family, Debi Wheeler of Somerset, have jumped in to help her and raised $3,500 for her project.

“I think she will do a good job,” Wheeler said. “She has tremendous faith and the passion to make it happen.”

Her principal, Jeffrey Boyer, said Victoria, just as the other students at school, is unselfish.

“She’s always putting others first and thinking of ways to help others,” he said.

Msgr. Samuel J. Tomaselli, pastor of St. Peter’s, said what people do to help others is the meaning of faith, and Victoria is strong in her faith.

For her efforts, Victoria, is the Person of the Week.