OREGON, Wis (SPECTRUM NEWS) — A Madison family believes in a little bit of magic can go a long way in making a medical miracle.
It all happened after a fateful visit to a favorite restaurant. One early Spring night, at Charlie’s On Main, Madison’s chef Dave Heide was bartending in the Speakeasy.
“Our theme down here in the Speakeasy is we will create any drink you want,” he said.
After an early spring diner at Charlies, a 12-year-old and her dad found their way through the restaurant’s secret door —down into the special place.
“And that’s when Chef Dave says give me something, give me a mood, give me a feeling,’ Dad, Mark Yancey said.
“He [Chef Dave] says i can make anything, give me a flavor, a place,’ Phoebe Yancey recalls of the experience.
“And I had a little lull and I said does anyone else want a drink?’
It was here, Mark encouraged Phoebe to ask for a miracle.
‘And I say, Pheobes, go ask him if he can make the cure for cancer.’
Some background on our story here, about a year ago — Phoebe Yancey was diagnosed with a deadly brain tumor. And on this night in the Speakeasy, after countless radiation treatments and surgeries— she just finished her hopefully final round of chemo.
‘She had taken 217 pills of chemotherapy,’ her dad said.
So amongst the bottles of Bitter Truth brand liquor, Phoebe found the courage to ask the bartending Chef Dave — the big question.
“I say ’can you make the cure for cancer?”
’And i was like oh s*!#!, cause like how do you say i don’t have one?” Chef Dave said.
“You don’t want to take hope away and you want to make something really fun and magical,” he added.
The bartender then began the concoction by infusing special blue tea leaves.
“And something called simple syrup, and then he shakes that up and pours it into the glass.’ Phoebe said.
A moment later, lemon lime juice was added to the mixture.
“At this point it’s blue and he puts this stuff in and he gives me this spoon and i watch it turn from blue to purple….And i’m like what the heck!’ Phoebe giggled. And when she took her first taste of the magical cocktail, she was impressed.
“It turned out to be really good and a really good experience,” she said.
An experience Phoebe’s doctor — UW Health Radiation Oncologist Kristen Bradley can’t medically say helped her patient —
because you can’t put a medical definition on hope.
“I think a lot of patients in that scenario understandably get sad or depressed but not Phoebe,” Dr. Bradley said.
“She channeled it into that special drink for her, making awareness of brain tumors for kids,” she added.
Phoebe knows how important it is to stay positive.
‘If i wasn’t as persistent and wanting to get out of the hospital and beat this and I wanted to be a normal person,’ she said.
Dr. Bradley says on Phoebe’s most recent scan just a few weeks ago everything looked good.
It means Phoebe and her sister, Peyton, can get back to doing what they love, singing and being siblings.
“It’s crazy, I’m speechless for how everything has gone this far,” Peyton said.
Chef Dave just is happy his cocktail creation boosted Phoebe’s spirits.
’#Killing cancer with my drinks, they’re like magic drinks!’
He plans to put the mocktail and an adult version on his menu at Charlie’s on main and his Fitchburg restaurant Lilliana’s soon. All the proceeds go to the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison.
“Calling it the Magical Phoebe!” Chef Dave exclaimed.
Proving the importance of always seeing the glass half full.
“This whole thing has pretty much taught me you only have one life…just live it to the max and just have fun while you live it,” Phoebe said.