2004 MALIBU SKYLAR NEIL MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT
Vince Neil and his daughter Skylar
The coolest tournament of the year is back! The 2004 Malibu Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament is scheduled for Thursday, May 6th at the beautiful Malibu Country Club in Malibu, California. I hope that you will join me as we tee it up for a great cause!
In 1995, I lost my daughter Skylar to stomach cancer. Since that time I have endeavored to do everything I can to help raise awareness and much needed funding for children’s illnesses. My Skylar Neil Memorial Foundation has donated nearly a million dollars to various charity organizations for Cancer, Leukemia and AIDS research, and neurogenetic disorders such as autism, Down Syndrome and Williams Syndrome. All of the proceeds from The Malibu Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament will be given to these charities so that they can continue their good work.
Over the last seven years, numerous celebrities and top business and entertainment executives have attended The Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament. We’ve been very fortunate to have corporate sponsors like Kingworld Entertainment, Ralph’s Food-4-Less, Thrifty Car-Rental, Budweiser, JVC and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, provide us with generous financial contributions to help offset tournament costs. Other sponsors like Vans, Adidas, Taylor Made, Oakley, Callaway Golf, EA Sports, Bite Golf, and the WWF have helped to make it even more enjoyable for our participants by donating some great items for our golfer gift bags.
If you would like more information on how to become an event sponsor, or if you would like to donate an item for our golfer gift bags, auction or raffle, please click the above links or contact Jon Scott at 818-981-9876 (or by email at jonscott2004@aol.com) to discuss these and many other opportunities to get involved.
If you are interested in playing in the golf tournament, please download a golfer registrion form from the link above, and return it as soon as possible… WE SELL OUT VERY QUICKLY, AND TEAMS ARE RESERVED ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS
All the best,
Vince Neil
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Skylar’s Story
It was early April, and Skylar came down with flu-like symptoms, so Sharise kept her home from preschool. It didn’t seem anything to be concerned about. But that night, Skylar doubled over in pain and couldn’t walk. Sharise took her to West Hills Medical Center. At the time, I was away at a pro-celebrity car race. When I returned to the hotel, I got a message to call a friend. Skylar was rushed into the emergency room and opened up. The doctors thought her appendix had ruptured, but it hadn’t. The problem was in an area behind her stomach, where they removed a tumor. The doctors told us that Skylar needed to be transferred to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, where they could make sure they had gotten all the fragments of the tumor, which had ruptured around her abdomen. All Sharise and I could tell her was, Soon, honey, you can go home.
A CAT scan indicated tumors on both kidneys; it looked bad. Later that week doctors operated to remove the tumors, but after they opened her up, they decided to leave everything intact and try saving the kidneys and shrinking the tumors using chemo and radiation. But Skylar remained in a lot of pain. Within a month, despite the treatments, a tumor on her right kidney that would eventually grow to 6 1/2 pounds began pushing her abdomen against her lungs, making it hard for her to breathe.
At one point, Skylar said, ’daddy, I’m never going home, am I? I said, Of course you are. Sharise and I never gave up hope. We brought Skylar’s dance clothes and toys to the hospital. We watched videos and sang songs. It was hard, but she recovered from the operation. Finally, even though she was getting shots of morphine for the pain, the doctors decided she could go home and do chemo as an outpatient.
We brought Skylar to Sharise’s house at the end of May. It was the first time in more than a month that she was in her own bedroom, but her stomach hurt constantly. After four days we took her back to the hospital. Doctors found she had a bowel obstruction from the previous surgery—some scar tissue had formed on her intestines and twisted them—and Skylar had her third operation within two months. She said to Sharise, Mommy, I don’t want to die. We reassured her, telling her, You’re going to go to sleep for a little bit, and when you wake up, Mommy & Daddy will be right here. But inside we were really scared.
Following the operation, she whimpered, ’dad, please don’t let them cut me anymore. What do you tell a child? Skylar’s tears ripped at my heart. Meanwhile, her breathing got worse, a fast panting that resulted from the right kidney’s big tumor pressing against her lungs. Her color was bad. You could actually see bones through her skin. I hated telling her she needed another operation, but there wasn’t a choice. The surgeons wanted to remove the right kidney. When they opened her up several days later, they found the cancer had spread to her liver and intestines and the muscles in her back. Removing the monstrous tumor from the right kidney would have caused so much bleeding, Skylar would have died on the table. So the surgeon patched her up and hoped for a miracle.
About a week later, on June 3, Skylar stopped breathing. The doctors put her on a respirator and gave her medication that essentially paralyzed her so that she wouldn’t expend unnecessary energy. Over the next two weeks she continued to fight. I don’t know how. Throughout the ordeal, I’ve wondered why this happened to someone who never got a chance to live. I’ve nearly destroyed myself asking if she was being punished for something I’d done. I’ve blamed myself because cancer runs on my mother’s side of the family. When I search for a reason for Skylar’s death, it’s as if she has opened my eyes to all the suffering other children and their parents are going through.
On July 26, Skylar underwent an operation to remove the tumor that had overtaken her body. The doctors explained it was extremely risky, but if she was going to have any chance at beating the cancer, this was it. I had no idea if I was saying goodbye forever. Ten hours later the doctors returned. They had removed the 6 1/2-pound tumor, the size of a football, and had also taken out her right kidney, half her liver, part of her diaphragm, a piece of muscle in her back and the tumor inside her left kidney. She eventually regained consciousness, but about a week later she underwent another operation to deal with a possible infection from the previous surgery. After that, she got worse. Her remaining kidney wasn’t working well, and her lungs began failing. The doctors told us she was slipping away. We called our families and told them it was time to say goodbye. Skylar was on painkillers and remained unconscious. I knew she could hear me, though, so before I left that night, I told her I loved her.
I had just gotten home when Sharise called. Her vital signs are dropping, she said. You’d better come back. I just started crying. Skylar was dying. It took a while for me to get to the hospital. In the meantime, Sharise sat by Skylar’s side as Skylar’s Song played in the background. Finally, Sharise told her, ’don’t be scared, sweetie. Go to sleep now. It’s all right. Minutes later, Skylar passed away.
I got to the hospital 10 minutes after she died. Her little body lay on the bed. I told myself that at least she wasn’t in pain anymore, but I’ve never experienced anything as sad as being in that room. On Aug.18, Skylar was buried in a tiny pink casket. At the service, we celebrated her life. Since then, I have gone to the cemetery often. I’ve been sleeping with the blanket Skylar died in because it still smells like her. Nothing’s changed at home—her room is exactly the same. But there are too many painful memories, so in November I’m moving to Las Vegas. Immediately after the funeral, I went out of town, running away from reality. But then I couldn’t run anymore. I returned to L.A. and started talking to a therapist who has really helped me deal with grieving. Sometimes I think Skylar is still here, and I think I’m insane. But my therapist says that’s normal. It’s part of letting go and the healing process. If you’ve never gone through this, it’s hard to know what you’re supposed to feel. I think of Skylar every day. I know someday the loss won’t hurt as much as it does now.
But I loved Skylar very much, and that will never go away. ~Vince Neil
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The Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament
In association with Vince Neil and the TJ Martell Foundation, ZRock is proud to announce ZRock Crue for the Cure, a grass roots campaign by the fans, for the fans, to benefit the Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament and the TJ Martell Foundation to help fund research and find the cure for leukemia, cancer, and AIDS. You can help find the cure by participating in our online rockathon and be eligible to win great thank you prizes from Vince Neil and ZRock.
I think Vince is a great guy for donating his time and efforts to a very worthy cause. You never know what it feels like until you lose someone you love. I encourge Vince to keep giving in hopes that someday they will find a cure. Metalhag!! – said metalhag2004 on May 05, 2004
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