Fighting a battle against cancer

Friends holding “No One Fights Alone” #TeamNola fundraiser for Barnes-Addante

Andrew Heiserman
Posted 1/21/20

A fundraiser coming up next month aims to provide attendees with an evening full of live music and fun, while also helping support a former Rochelle resident in her battle against cancer.

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Fighting a battle against cancer

Friends holding “No One Fights Alone” #TeamNola fundraiser for Barnes-Addante

Posted

A fundraiser coming up next month aims to provide attendees with an evening full of live music and fun, while also helping support a former Rochelle resident in her battle against cancer.
Nola Barnes-Addante, who is currently battling breast cancer that has spread to her liver and bones, grew up and began raising her family in Rochelle community.
She was born at Rochelle Community Hospital and lived in the village of Steward until she was 12 years old.
At that time, Nola’s parents, Emmett and Pauline, decided to move to Rochelle to open a music store that was located on Sixth Street across from the police station, where Kennay Farms Distillery is located now. The store, Barnes Music, employed several people who taught private piano, organ and musical instrument lessons. In addition, they sold pianos, organs, many band and orchestra instruments, as well as sheet music and accessories.
Nola said that she came from a very musical family, so she spent a lot of time at the store growing up. She had a love for everything music and that carried over to many areas of her life. She was the organist for her church, the Rochelle United Methodist Church, from when she was 14 to 19 and was involved in everything music in high school from band and choir to Madrigals and marching band.
Growing up, music and her family music store played a big part in her life.
“As a teenager being a piano player, I was able to go to the shop, pick a piece of music off the shelf and play whatever I wanted at any time,” she explained. “We had pianos at home, but to be able to walk in, pick any piece of music and play whenever was my dream thing to do and I loved it.”
The music shop also helped Nola and her parents meet many different people in the community.

Nola married and had her first few children while living in Rochelle. When she was 27 she made the decision to move with her family to Rockford. While living in Rockford, Addante decided she wanted to go back to school to become a nurse so she could make a difference in people’s lives. She attended nursing school at NIU for her bachelor’s degree in nursing, and later received her master’s in nursing education. Upon graduation, Barnes-Addante has worked as a nurse in many areas, including being a nursing professor at Rockford University for the last nine and a half years.
After being diagnosed with stage four cancer last summer, she continued to work at Rockford University; however, she has decided to take a leave of absence this semester to focus on her treatment
“A year ago, I was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, and then after going through a double mastectomy and 25 treatments of radiation I found out in July of 2019 that I have stage four and it spread to my liver and bones,” said Addante. “The stage four was probably there the entire time, but they never did any scans or whole-body x-rays. So, it wasn’t until I started having liver pains that they discovered the mass in my liver.”
Since learning of her diagnosis, Barnes-Addante has been receiving weekly chemotherapy treatment at Loyola University. The cost of the chemo as well as traveling and medicine adds up very quickly and with Nola not being able to work at the moment, she is appreciative of any help that she receives.
In an effort to help with some of those costs, three local Rochelle residents and friends of Barnes-Addante’s started the “No One Fights Alone” #TeamNola fundraiser next month.
“This is all the idea of Kelly Johnson, Sandy Coons, Joe Wyatt and Nancy Kessen, a few of my friends from Rochelle who have been spearheading the whole thing,” added Addante. “They asked me about a month ago if I wouldn’t mind if they did this for me and I thought it was really sweet and I am truly honored that they are doing this for me.
Event
The event is scheduled to take place Saturday, Feb. 29 at 3 p.m., at the Flight Deck Bar and Grill hanger.
The event will include live music from Burn ‘N Bush at 6 p.m., a 50/50 raffle, silent auction and a cash bar, featuring a beer glass for $20 that includes free refills all night.
Tickets are $20 and include entrance, entertainment and Hors d’oeuvres. Tickets for the 50/50 raffle are $5 each or six for $20. Tickets for the event can be purchased prior to the event from Coons at the Hub City Barber.
All proceeds earned through the event will go to help Barnes-Addante with her medical expenses.
“The outpouring of love and support for me has been so humbling, I can’t even explain how it feels,” expressed Barnes-Addante. “Since last summer, when I learned of the stage four cancer, people have been extremely generous with their prayer support, words of encouragement and financial help too. I am deeply grateful and thankful for all of it.”
Anyone wishing to help support Barnes-Addante but unable to attend the event, may do so by donating to a bank account set up under the name Nola Addante at First State Bank, which will also be used to help with her medical expenses.