Libertyville's Brush a hero with a huge heart

His jumpshot likely won't be the difference in a win or a loss.

Neither will his free throws, ball-handling ability, rebounding or defense.

But Libertyville senior forward Jake Brush, a backup who is rarely in position to play the role of heroic difference-maker on the court, is certainly making a difference this season.

With his heart.

Brush is a heroic difference-maker to 10-year-old Libertyville resident Olivia Tomassetti and her family.

"Jake is just amazing," said Lisa Tomassetti, Olivia's mom. "As a mom, it is incredible to me what this high schooler has taken upon himself to do for us."

Olivia suffers from cystic fibrosis and Brush has spent hours upon hours, and many Sunday afternoons over the last couple of months organizing a fundraiser through the basketball team in her honor. Those efforts will come to a head on Saturday when Libertyville hosts Stevenson in a 6:30 p.m. North Suburban Conference Lake Division clash.

Brush is hoping to see hundreds of fans wearing the purple T-shirts he and his teammates have been selling at school over the past few weeks to benefit Liv for a Cure, a foundation dedicated to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis.

A play off of Olivia's name, Liv for a Cure (www.livforacure.org) was started by Lisa Tomassetti in 2002.

"Purple is Liv for a Cure's color, so we want to have a 'Purple Out,'" the 18-year-old Brush said. "We've already sold 200 shirts at $10 apiece and we're hoping to sell more. We want to raise as much money as we can for Olivia."

So far, through the T-shirts, stretchy plastic bracelets and a few corporate and private donations, Brush and the Wildcats have netted nearly $1,400 for Olivia, who was born with cystic fibrosis and diagnosed in utero.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 people in the United States. People with cystic fibrosis produce an unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and other internal organs, which often leads to life-threatening infections.

Olivia takes dozens of medications daily just to stay alive, and she's been in the hospital twice just since mid-December.

"Olivia is an amazing kid," Lisa Tomassetti said. "She inspires us with the way she lives her life. She's a straight-A student, she has friends, she plays soccer and softball, she's happy. But at the same time, life is hard for her. She's got some digestive issues going on right now. She's had to have several sinus surgeries in her life that stemmed just from a common cold. She's lives in a lot of pain."

It's a heart-wrenching story, one that Brush knows well, albeit from afar.

Ironically, Brush doesn't know Olivia or her family all that well, but he does remember hearing about the fundraisers for her when he was in grade school at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Libertyville. Olivia is now a fourth grader at St. Joseph's herself.

In the fall, Brush was reminded of Olivia once again when his younger sister Savannah, a freshman at Libertyville, happened to go to homecoming with Olivia's older brother, Nick.

At about the same time, Brush noticed how passionate the Libertyville girls volleyball team was in selling pink T-shirts in order to promote Breast Cancer Awareness. The team encouraged fans create a "Pink Out" at their games by wearing the T-shirts en mass.

"When I saw that, I felt like I wanted our team to do something, too," Brush said. "I've been involved in other fundraisers at Libertyville and through my life. In November, we did a Band Jam to raise money for students in Tanzania. This time, I wanted to do something local and I thought of Olivia.

"My dad (Peter) is in a band and he's also done a lot of fundraisers. He's kind of instilled in me the idea (of giving back) and I thought it would be fun for our team to do something together."

Apparently, all the togetherness involved with running a fundraiser has been good for the Wildcats.

Brush has gotten the most help from guard Brandon Fowkes, who helped design the T-shirt, and forward Landon Eyre, but he says that every single player on the team has spent time selling the purple shirts during lunch.

"It's kind of been a neat team-building thing," Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil said. "Seniors at our school can leave the building for lunch but our seniors have been staying back selling T-shirts in the cafeteria during lunch. We've got all of our guys working together. It's been nice to see.

"Jake has really gotten the team to come together on this. He's taken the ball and really run with it."

And for Brush, the payoff's been almost better than anything else he could possibly do with a basketball.

"I don't play a lot, I don't get a lot of minutes," Brush said. "But I still wanted to get something out of this season, and I think I have."

***

Who: Libertyville boys basketball team

What: Cystic fibrosis fundraiser for 10-year-old Libertyville resident Olivia Tomassetti

When: Saturday; during the sophomore and varsity (6:30 p.m.) boys basketball games against Stevenson

Where: Libertyville High School main gym

What else: Fans can purchase a $10 commemorative purple T-shirt to wear in the stands, creating a "Purple Out."-Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason is active in the fight against cystic fibrosis. His son Gunnar was diagnosed with it in 1993. Esiason has sent an autographed football to Libertyville. It will be raffled off during the game.

More information: For more information about cystic fibrosis or Olivia Tomassetti's Liv for a Cure foundation, visit: www.livforacure.org.